Skip to content

Spirit of Giving

Sunshine Place’s Spirit of Giving Program matches families in need of gifts for their children during the December holiday season with community members who want to help. This program provides assistance to families who live in or attend the Sun Prairie Area School District.

We are gearing up for the 2025 Spirit of Giving, stay tuned!

Please email spiritofgiving@sunshineplace.org if you have questions.

 
Sponsor a Family

Here’s how the Spirit of Giving Program works:

November 1st to 15th (closes at 11 PM) families in need can register for the program and submit gift wishes for their children. On November 16th the database opens (accessed via this website) that shows the specific wishes of hundreds of kids. These are all Sun Prairie families who qualify to participate. Names are kept anonymous but age, gender and school are listed. 

Community members can choose children to sponsor by family (we will have families with 1 child or multiple children). Sponsors should plan to spend about $50 per child. Families get sponsored very quickly, but the database will remain open until the first week of December.

Once you sign-up to sponsor, you’ll receive detailed information about how and when to bring your unwrapped gifts to Heartland Church, 800 Wilburn Rd, Sun Prairie so that we can get them ready to give to the families.  

Gifts are distributed on the second Saturday of December. Families drive through the parking lot of Heartland Church, 800 Wilburn Rd, Sun Prairie to receive their gifts, never even needing to leave their cars! Volunteers work together to make it easy for our sponsored families to receive their gifts.

Want to Donate to Spirit of Giving?

Please click the button below and enter “Spirit of Giving” in the Donor Note.

Click Here to Donate

Spirit of Giving | I Need Help

Who is Eligible?

Families in need of holiday gift assistance must meet the following requirements:

  • Need gift assistance for children ages birth to 18
  • Children must be either attending school in the Sun Prairie Area School District or living in the city of Sun Prairie, (if your child/ren do not attend school because they are not school-aged, they are home-schooled, etc.).
  • Online registration opens on November 1. Families have to apply online by November 15th at 11 PM and should receive a confirmation email.

How to Apply?

If your family has applied for and qualified for the free or reduced lunch program for the current school year, you will be contacted by the Sun Prairie Area School District Nutrition Department via phone, text, and/or email on November 1, with information on how to register your family for the Spirit of Giving program.

If your family lives in Sun Prairie and you are in need of holiday gift assistance, but you did not apply or qualify for the free and reduced school lunch program, your children are not yet school-aged, or they are home-schooled, please contact spiritofgiving@sunshineplace.org.

FAMILY SCHEDULE

Registration:

Family registration opens November 1st and closes November 15th at 11 PM. If you have successfully registered you should receive a Spirit of Giving confirmation email. Please reach out to spiritofgiving@sunshineplace.org with questions.

Gift Pick Up Information for Registered Families:

WHEN: Saturday, December 15th between 8 AM and 11 AM.
WHERE: Heartland Church, 800 Wilburn Rd., Sun Prairie

Please watch for signs directing traffic on the day of pick up. You will receive an email with your confirmation FAM number and pick up information. This email is REQUIRED for gift pick up.

If the registered family member cannot make it on the pick up date, they should send someone with their Spirit of Giving confirmation email to pick up gifts for their family. All gifts must be picked up on distribution day during the designated time.

Spirit of Giving | I Want to Help

What Does it Mean to be a Spirit of Giving Sponsor?

Make a local family’s December holidays a bit more magical this year by sponsoring gifts for their children. Sponsor one family, or several! Spirit of Giving sponsors are committing to purchasing and dropping off gifts for the children in their sponsored family, helping us ensure each child in a sponsored family receives a gift to celebrate the holidays.

In addition to community member sponsorships, Spirit of Giving partners with several area businesses, organizations, and churches who provide funding, and help us ensure every child on our list is sponsored for a gift. If you choose someone to sponsor at your church, you may be working with Sunshine Place’s Spirit of Giving Program to help Sun Prairie kids! If you are a business, church, or other organization that would like to sponsor families for Spirit of Giving, or make a donation to our progam, please contact spiritofgiving@sunshineplace.org.

A group of volunteers smiles beside a table and Spirit of Giving program signs.

SPONSOR SCHEDULE

Choose a Family to Sponsor:

The Spirit of Giving database of families to sponsor opens on November 16th and will remain open until every family is sponsored. A link to sign up as a sponsor will be posted to the top of this web page when sponsorship opens.  

Gift Drop-Off:

Sponsors must drop off all gifts on December 10th at Heartland Church, 800 Wilburn Rd, Sun Prairie to be prepped for distribution. Drop-off will be set up as a drive-through. Gifts should be:

  • UNWRAPPED but inside a holiday gift bag (no tissue paper please)
  • Clearly labeled with your family’s sponsorship number (you will receive an email with detailed instructions before drop-off)

Please email spiritofgiving@sunshineplace.org if you have questions or would like more information.