Through Gifts of Love City Impact Brings Hope to The Lincoln Community

At City Impact, we believe in sharing the gospel, love, and kindness of Jesus Christ. God’s kindness is so powerful that it changes lives. As believers in our Savior, we are made to partake of His very nature. God not only wants us to experience life-changing love, grace, and compassion from Him, but from those around us.

The Christmas season is a financial burden for more than half of the people living in City Impact’s core neighborhoods. With families struggling to make ends meet, what better way to give the gift of love than by helping them celebrate Christmas and bring joy to hundreds of kids? Our signature program, Gifts of Love, allows us to do just that as families and volunteers shop side-by-side in a gym filled with thousands of brand-new gift items in the Christmas Store. Families waiting to begin their shopping experience have a chance to hear the gospel, take home Bibles and pamphlets and make lasting connections that may bear fruit later on.

For more than 25 years, Gifts of Love has provided Christmas with dignity to thousands of need-qualified Lincoln families. Through God’s provision and the efforts of many community partners and volunteers, hundreds of local families were given the chance to purchase new toys, household items, and electronics at a small fraction of the retail price – making gift-giving more affordable.

Our 2022 Gifts of Love program served more than 300 shoppers who purchased nearly 10,000 gifts for 700 families in just three days. More than nearly 300 volunteers from businesses, churches, and individuals in the community made the events such a huge success. Many of our partners dedicated countless hours of their time to help prepare for and manage the Gifts of Love Christmas store. Media outlets like B107.3, My Bridge Radio, KLNTV, Strictly Business, and Nebraska Today showed their support by promoting the events and highlighting our mission. B107.3 took it a step further by helping to secure lots of awesome presents for our GOL store.
 

In preparation for Gifts of Love 2023 and other exciting new programs on the horizon, we asked GOL shoppers and volunteers for feedback on ways to enhance their experience at City Impact through an online survey. The responses were strictly anonymous.

In preparation for Gifts of Love 2023 and other exciting new programs on the horizon, we asked GOL shoppers and volunteers for feedback on ways to enhance their experience at City Impact through an online survey. The responses were strictly anonymous.

Another shopper described her experience at GOL. “The volunteers! They were so helpful, excited, and kind! Also, the gifts were things families actually wanted/needed and were not cheap! You could just tell they were selected with love!”

One volunteer replied, “I like that I am able to teach my daughter the importance of giving back to the community when we volunteer. I love that I am able to gift my children something for Christmas.”

Another GOL volunteer replied, “I love several things about Gifts of Love. The dignity with which the families are given to invest in their children themselves. GOL just creates a different experience for them, I believe, as compared to other events I’ve helped with. The opportunity to meet people I wouldn’t ordinarily meet (both volunteers and families) keeps me coming back year after year. I love praying with family members as the opportunity arises.”

Gifts of Love 2022 would not have been made possible without the support of our community stakeholders. We express our sincere appreciation to Huffman Engineering, Lincoln Pediatric Dentistry, and Bishop Business for their generous donations. We could not have done it without you!

City Impact’s Gifts of Love program is not just an opportunity to help families in need. At City Impact, we see Gifts of Love as a means to draw families to God and communicate His love for us, just as he calls us to do.

If you, your family, or a small group would like to support Gifts of Love this coming December, stay tuned in to visit www.cityimpact.org and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.