Spirit of Giving
The Sun Prairie Spirit of Giving Program matches families in need of gifts and food 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. The application process begins in early November with food and gift distribution happening early December.
Please email spiritofgiving@sunshineplace.org if you have questions.
Spirit of Giving | I Need Help
Families wanting help, with children ages birth-18 and 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 not school-aged, home-schooled, etc.), can apply on-line starting November 1st through November 15th or until we reach a max of 500 applications.
If your family applied for and qualified for the free or reduced lunch program for the 2022/2023 school year you will be contacted by the Sun Prairie Area School District Nutrition Department by phone, text, and/or email about how to apply for the 2022 Spirit of Giving program.
If your family lives in Sun Prairie and did not apply or qualify for the free and reduced school lunch program, but would like assistance for the holidays, please contact spiritofgiving@sunshineplace.org.
2022 SCHEDULE:
- Applications are open November 1st to 15th or when the program reaches 500 families
For families who submitted an application:
Family Gift Pick up:
WHEN: December 10th between 8-11a
WHERE: NEW this year-18 Rickel Road (Food Pantry)
The food basket will be picked up at 18 Rickel Road and traffic will flow through to the Sunshine Supper building for the children’s gifts. Please watch for 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 pick up on December 10.
If the family cannot make it this date, they should send someone with the Spirit of Giving confirmation email.
Spirit of Giving | I Want to Help
Join us as we sponsor more than 1,500 children with gifts and 550 families with boxes of food to help with holiday celebrations! With this program community members sponsor families so that each child receives a gift for the holidays. In partnership with Sun Prairie Area Food Pantry, each family will receive a holiday food basket with their child(ren)’s gifts. These food baskets are about a $40 per family.
This program is a true community effort! We also partner with many area churches to get the children on our list sponsored for a gift. If you choose someone to sponsor at your church, you are probably working with the Spirit of Giving Program and helping Sun Prairie kids. Many area businesses and organizations also support our program each year, by donating funds and sponsoring children. The Sun Prairie Food Pantry’s help is also critical.
2022 SCHEDULE:
- November 16 – Database of families to sponsor opens.
- December 7 – Gift Intake/Drop off Day
- 7:30a-10:30a and 3p-7p.
- Sunshine Supper facility, 1632 W. Main St
Please email spiritofgiving@sunshineplace.org if you have questions or would like more information.
Here’s how the Spirit of Giving Program works:
In mid November, we open a database (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 between $40-$50 per child they sponsor. 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 information about when to bring your unwrapped gifts to the Sunshine Supper facility so that we can get them ready to give to the families. In addition to sponsoring children with gifts, you can also contribute donations toward food boxes.
Gifts and food are usually distributed on the second Saturday of December. Families drive through the parking lot of the Sunshine Supper Building to receive their food and gifts, never even needing to leave their cars! Volunteers work together that day to make it easy for our sponsored families to receive their gifts and food boxes.
Want to Donate to Spirit of Giving?
Please click the button below and enter “Spirit of Giving” in the Donor Note