LAFAYETTE, La. — The Gifting Grace Project is a non-profit organization that was first created in 2020.
The Project's mission is to provide all the homeless children of Acadiana with essential resources, support services and community advocacy.
This year, the organization is holding its fourth annual Sponsor a Homeless Child for Christmas Project. This year's goal is to provide 1,000 homeless children with Christmas gifts.
Gifting Grace is very close to meeting this goal, but there are still a few slots left open for children to be sponsored. To fill one of those slots, visit the online Angel Tree found on the Gifting Grace Project's website under the 'Christmas' tab.
This list of homeless children was provided by the organization's partnership with the Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Landry and Vermilion Parish School Systems' Homeless Education Programs.
To protect the identities of the children, names are not given on the website. Instead, they are represented by codes.
The codes are two letters and three numbers. The letters represent which parish the child is in, and the number is what makes the code unique. When you choose a slot to fill from the online Angel Tree, the code will be in the top left corner of the box.
This code is what you will mark the gift with to make sure it is brought to the correct child.
The last day to donate a gift is Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. All gifts should be dropped off the Gifting Grace Project's office located at 217 Rue Louis XIV in Lafayette. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
If you are unable to sponsor a child for Christmas, there are other ways to give.
All throughout the year, the organization is working on different projects to provide to the homeless children of Acadiana.
You can provide your helping hand through a monetary or material donation or by volunteering your time.
The organization is always looking for volunteers to help distribute gifts, build "Student Care Kits," distribute warm coats and fresh socks, pack backpacks with school supplies and more.
If you would like to volunteer or make a donation, you can visit the Gifting Grace Project's website's volunteer tab. You can also contact the project's founder, David Owens, by email (david@giftinggraceproject.com) or phone (337-321-3356).
You can also keep up with the organization's movements through its social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram.
