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Holiday assistance includes Thanksgiving baskets, Christmas food, and gifts for children through 12 years old. Contact the Taylor County Matura office for more information. 

Christmas 2025:

Christmas assistance registration opens Oct 14, 2025. Offers Christmas food baskets and the Angel Tree Program.

Online registration at www.SAAngelTree.org (Angel Tree and food box only).

In person registration (at The Kroc Center, 405 Vermont Street):

- Mon, Nov 3 - 5:30–6:30 pm

- Tue, Nov 4 - 9 am–10 am

- Sat, Nov 8 - 10 am–11 am

- Thu, Nov 20 - 10 am–11 am

Application window: Tue, Oct 14 to Tue, Dec 2.

All Angel Tree registrants also receive a Christmas food box.

For questions, contact Heather Martin at (217) 231-5674 or [email protected].

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TSAquincyIL

The mission of the program is to collect and distribute new unwrapped toys as Christmas gifts to children ages 0-14.

Toy application information for 2025:

Complete online application by December 8, 2025. You will be notified by email if you qualify between December 9-12, 2025.

Approved applicants will be notified of specific distribution dates and locations.

Provides gifts and clothing for the Christmas season to children of eligible households in Hancock, Henderson, and McDonough counties.

For Christmas 2025:

Due to a high number of applications received in a short time, WIRC's Project Santa program has paused applications for the 2025 season (as of 10/13/25).

A waitlist application is now available: https://wirpc.org/projectsanta. If spots open for the 2025 program, WIRC will consider households on the wait list in the order they applied.

Those who do not want to be put on the wait list are encouraged to explore other holiday programs in the area such as Toys for Tots, Angel Tree, or Shop with a Cop.

Collects toys and distributes them to needy families. Children ages 0-14 are eligible.

Toy application information for 2025:

10/1/25: Application open date.

11/14/25: Application close date.

10/01/25: Application response start date.

11/14/25: Application response end date.

Toy Distribution:

Starts 11/20/2025, ends 12/11/2025. Approved applicants will be notified of specific distribution dates and locations. 

Thanksgiving program provides a food box.

For Thanksgiving 2025, in-person sign-ups are by appointment only. No more requests will be received after October 25.

Applicants must bring photo ID for all adults in the household, proof of birth date for each child, proof of address (current utility bill, mail, etc), proof of all household income. Applicants must apply at one agency only. (Salvation Army compares applicant lists with other agencies.)

For Christmas 2025, the Christmas program offers food boxes for families and/or toys for children; programs are for children ages 0-15 and seniors age 65+.

Beginning Nov 1st through Nov 20th or until capacity is reached. Register at https://saangeltree.org or call (402) 379-4663 for an appointment. If not qualified for Angel Tree, call for information about receiving a Christmas food box.

2025 registration ended 11/14/2025.

Partners with Toys For Tots and Midwest Food Bank to provide toys and a Christmas food box for families/individuals in need.

Single Moms Christmas Dinner offered 5 pm Dec. 6, 2025, at Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. Includes a catered meal for single mothers and their children. Activities and programming provided for newborns to age 18. Registration is required and closes December 1, 2025. Visit website or call to register.

Scholarships may be available for those who qualify and can be requested by emailing [email protected]

Program provides clothing and a toy for each child. Registration also includes a sign-up for a food basket. Deadline to register for aid is November 14, 2025. Can register by going to their office during the food pantry hours and completing a form. Pick-up is December 13, 2025, from 9 am-12 noon.

Thanksgiving meal assistance, applications accepted approximately 2-3 weeks before the holiday.

Christmas food and toys Christmas applications accepted from just after Thanksgiving to approximately 10 days before Christmas.

The mission of the program is to collect and distribute new unwrapped toys as Christmas gifts to children less fortunate in the local community, ages 6 months-12 years.

Toy application information for 2025:
10/1/25: Application open date.
11/26/25: Application close date.
10/13/25: Application response start date.
11/29/25: Application response end date.

Verification Dates and Times:

October Dates: Open from 9 am-6 pm

October- 13th, 15th, 20th, 22nd, 27th, and 29th

November Dates: Open from 9 am-6 pm

November- 1st, 15th, 17th, 19th, 22nd, and 29th

Toy Distribution:
Starts 10/28/2025, ends 12/19/2025. Approved applicants will be notified of specific distribution dates and locations.

Provides assistive technology for blind or visually impaired students to use in their homes.

Makes annual award to Nebraska teacher of the blind and visually impaired.

Offers a scholarship to graduating senior high school students.

Sponsors annual Christmas Party for blind and visually impaired children.

2026 YouthHope Holiday Food Baskets

Holiday Food Basket Application begin October 1, 2026. Holiday baskets include holiday meal food items and a grocery gift certificate. Baskets are limited. Clients who apply for a food basket from another agency are not eligible. First-come, first-served. Basket recipients will receive a basket pick-up card at the time of application with details.

Application must be completed in-person during Food Pantry hours: Monday & Friday 9 am-12 pm. Families may select either Thanksgiving OR Christmas while supplies last. Please one ONE basket per family per year.

THANKSGIVING BASKET DISTRIBUTION: Thursday, November 19, 2026 (9 am-12 pm)

CHRISTMAS BASKET DISTRIBUTION: Thursday, December 17, 2026 (9 am-12 pm)

Provides gifts to foster families by seeking donations or monetary donations used to purchase gifts, for children. Services include gift wrapping and delivering the gifts to the foster parents before Christmas day. Program may also provide gifts to adult residential clients. Will provide letter of thanks for donation for tax purposes. 

Holiday Adoption program.

For Christmas 2025, the deadline to apply for Shelby County is December 1st.

For Monona County, deadline is December 5, 2025, and must be a client receiving services from LIHEAP. Call to make appointment for LIHEAP and then receive application for Holiday Adoption.

This program is especially designed to help families who are facing financial hardships and are unable to afford a Christmas dinner or new toys and warm clothing for their children. The Holiday Adoption Program hopes to address the needs of low-income children and families during the holidays and winter season.

Provides a seasonal Christmas give-away of food and Christmas presents for children of families in need. Children ages 12 and under receive toys and teens ages 13 through 18 receive a goodie bag.

Holiday baskets are offered seasonally, provided through local community support. Programs vary by location; call for information.

For Thanksgiving/Christmas 2025:

Holiday Food provides special meals during the holiday season.

Holiday Families provides support to families during the holidays, in partnership with community organizations.

Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets are offered through some Mid-Sioux Opportunity outreach offices, as well as Christmas gift distribution programs. Dates and times vary by location. Families are encouraged to contact their local office for details.

Offers free Christmas trees and decorations. Call for information.

2026 YouthHope Holiday Food Baskets

Holiday Food Basket Application begin October 1, 2026. Holiday baskets include holiday meal food items and a grocery gift certificate. Baskets are limited. Clients who apply for a food basket from another agency are not eligible. First-come, first-served. Basket recipients will receive a basket pick-up card at the time of application with details.

Application must be completed in-person during Food Pantry hours: Monday & Friday 9 am-12 pm. Families may select either Thanksgiving OR Christmas while supplies last. Please one ONE basket per family per year.

THANKSGIVING BASKET DISTRIBUTION: Thursday, November 19, 2026 (9 am-12 pm)

CHRISTMAS BASKET DISTRIBUTION: Thursday, December 17, 2026 (9 am-12 pm)

Offers a community Thanksgiving meal in November. Residents may apply for special food box and toy distributions for Christmas.

- 2025 Salvation Army Angel Tree Program:

Sign-up open Sep 1-Oct 31, 2025. Apply Online at www.saangeltree.org

- Toy Shop pick-up Dec 16-17, 2025.

Helps provide Christmas gifts for children and senior adults each year. Once registered and accepted, each Angel’s Christmas wish list is shared with donors in the community, who purchase new clothing and toys for the family.

For Christmas 2025:

Heart of Christmas is Sat, Dec 6th, from 10 am-11 am, held at the Faith Church in Rock Valley, IA. Provides a Christmas store for children ages 3-11, and parents pay $5 per child to choose and wrap a gift. The store closes at 10:45 am, so parents must arrive before that time.

This also qualifies parents to receive a holiday meal kit. Children enter the Christmas Carnival area with a variety of games and decorate Christmas cookies. There is an interactive retelling of the Christmas story.

Parents must register by Nov 21. Register online at www.loveincsiouxcounty.org, our facebook page, or call (712) 476-5990. No registration needed for Christmas Carnival. (All children must be accompanied by a parent at the event.)

For Christmas 2025:

Project Santa’s Toy and Joy Shop Program empowers low-income parents to have gifts for their children on Christmas or their holiday of choice. Provides 3-5 new toys for each child, books, school supplies, and coloring books. Serves children ages 0-12.

For Christmas 2025:

To sign up for Project Santa, beginning December 1st through December 23rd, community members can visit the Timberlake Outreach Center or Council Bluffs Outreach Center (on the days they are open) and sign up their children (aged newborn to 12) to receive new toys for Christmas. This should be done during visitors' once-a-month shopping time. Please note that each child can only be signed up for this program once.

To sign children up for Christmas gifts, applicants must bring:

- A current piece of mail

- Social Security cards for each child (ages newborn to 12 years old) to sign up to receive gifts

- A document verifying the children’s ages (such as a birth certificate or Medicaid card)

To Shop for Toys: After sign-up, applicants will be given a confirmation sheet with an appointment day and time to come and shop for toys for the children who were signed up. Applicants will need to bring that confirmation sheet with them when shopping for toys.

The Toy N Joy shop is located on the main campus by the airport in Omaha, and will be open (by appointment only) from 10 am-6 pm on December 18th, 19th, 20th, 22nd, and 23rd. Parents cannot bring children with them to the Toy N Joy Shop.

Holiday baskets are offered seasonally, provided through local community support. Programs vary by location; call for information.

Offers a Toys for Tots sign ups. Toys for Tot sign-ups held November 1 through December 4, 2025. Can only sign children up that are 14 years old and under. The church will reach back out to registered clients and let them know when and where the pick up will be.