JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – You can make Christmas extra special for Jacksonville kids in foster care this year.
Family Support Services of North Florida is in the middle of its annual “Be an Angel” campaign.
Friday is your last chance to have a child’s list sent to you.
If you’re interested in becoming a donor, here’s the link: https://beanangeljax.com/.
For more than a decade now, Family Support Services of North Florida makes Christmas brighter for those in Jacksonville’s foster care system.
“There is a joy for the kid on the receiving end,” said Octavius Davis with the foster care service. “But there is also a tremendous amount of joy that our donors receive by being able to give to our children in care.”
Davis said FSS needs gifts for those who are between 10 and 23 years old in the system.
Some of the most popular things on their wish lists include tablets, bicycles, dolls, and sneakers.
Each person gets three wishes:
- A gift that costs up to $100
- Another valued at $30
- Their last one at $20
Anyone can sign up to be an “Angel.”
“If you have a heart for the city of Jacksonville, the children here in the city of Jacksonville or if you just simply have a heart to give,” Davis said.
Another way Davis says people can give is through cash donations, which will be accepted over the next two weeks. You can find more information at https://www.fssjax.org/.
“Those cash donations would allow us to go out and purchase helmets and other safety equipment for those items that the kids may be requesting,” he said.
The gifts will mean the world to those receiving them.
Davis said he knows how the kids feel.
“I remember what that was like as a kid but to also see the sense of appreciation on the faces of our kids,” Davis said. “It just lets me know that we are definitely doing right by our children.”
The gifts will be collected at the group’s Riverplace Boulevard location and a few other sites next week.
Tuesday, Dec. 7
9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Family Support Services of North Florida
1300 Riverplace Blvd.
Wednesday, Dec. 8
9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
National Youth Advocacy Program
2200 Rosselle St.
Thursday, Dec. 9
9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Daniel Kids
1965 Beachway Road (1300 Building)
Friday, Dec. 10
9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Jewish Family & Community Services
8540 Baycenter Road