The Inmate Connection birthday & holiday Drives
The Inmate Connection holiday drive: A year-round project
Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza happen in December, but our team works tirelessly year-round to give as many children affected by incarceration an extra special holiday season! If you know of a family who would benefit from our program, please fill out our holiday drive form!
the inmate connection birthday drive
Birthdays are a big deal at The Inmate Connection. Our team works year-round to sponsor gifts for the children of incarcerated parents on their birthday. We accept gift requests up to one year in advance for children turning 17 or younger on their next birthday. We ask that requests are made a minimum of one month in advance. Our team works hard to fulfill as many requests as possible, unfortunately we are unable to process each request. We accept requests based on the child’s wishlist/interests and if our team has the current means to meet the child’s’ wish. Requests made further in advance allow our team additional time to scout the desired item at the best deal or ask for specific donation requests from our donors. This program relies heavily on donations from our supporters. Our team shops each week in-stores and online with donation funds and our limited birthday drive budget keep our gift inventory as full as possible. Each gift is valued at approximately $40-$50. The Inmate Connection covers all shipping costs, and coordinates with the inmate to ensure a timely delivery for their child’s gift. If you fill out an online submission form on behalf of an inmate, we will notify your inmate if we are able to sponsor their child’s birthday gift. If you would like to submit a request for a birthday package on behalf of an inmate, you can submit an online birthday request form!
Holiday & birthday Drives Timeline
January 1 - July 30 : Our team shops weekly online and in-stores to find deals on toys for children of all ages. We take inventory of the requests we’ve received, and fundraise when possible. 100% of all donations are used towards inmate release packages and our holiday and birthday drives. At The Inmate Connection, we want to give back to our customers and to families affected by incarceration as much as possible. Each week, our team devotes one full work day to gathering, organizing, and sending out birthday gifts to children of incarcerated parents.
August 1 -September 30 : Our team continues to shop for potential gifts, and we sort through donation requests for our families. We begin reaching out to inmates who we can accommodate based on our inventory and what we’ve accumulated. Birthday packages continue to be mailed out weekly for birthdays the following week.
October 1 - October 30: Our team continues reaching out to as many inmates as our inventory allows. We begin packaging our holiday drive boxes for families, and continue mailing birthday packages.
November 1 - November 30: All inmates who we can serve will have received notification before November 1st. Our team spends the entire month of November packing up hundreds of boxes of gifts for children of incarcerated inmates, and continuing our birthday services.
December 1 - December 10: Our team continues packing our gift boxes and make daily trips to the post-office to ensure delivery before all major holidays.
December 11 - December 31: Our team continues sending out birthday packages and starts locating deals for the following Christmas!