Many Americans are feeling the pinch of inflation.
They’re accordingly being a little cautious and likely will spend an average of $923 on holiday gifts this year, according to a Gallup poll, a tad less than the $932 they estimated they would spend in 2022.
However, that amount of seasonal spending is out of reach for Indianapolis’ lower-income families, many of whom may need help to put food on the table or presents under the tree.
Here are some Indianapolis resources for holiday toys and meals.
Where you can get free toys for your children
Catholic Charities Indianapolis sponsors a Christmas store located in the Xavier Building, 1435 N. Illinois St., that offers free holiday gifts to about 900 low-income families recommended by partnering referral agencies. The organization is seeking donations of infant and toddler toys and dolls for ages 2-5, action figures, crafts and arts sets, Lego sets, and gifts for teens, including jewelry, nail polish sets, headphones, and footballs and basketballs. Go to the Catholic Charities Indianapolis website or call 317-236-1556 to learn more.Â
The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Toy Shop provides free holiday gifts for low-income families. More than 5,000 boys and girls ages 1-12 in the Indianapolis area are helped each year through the program. The Salvation Army also sponsors an Adopt-A-Family Christmas program, which matches impoverished families with individual or group sponsors. Families registered in the program receive gifts and food the week before Christmas. Visit the website to learn more.Â
The U.S. Marine Corp Reserve’s Toys for Tots program helps 50,000 children in Central Indiana up to age 14 each year, says its Indiana coordinator, Staff Sgt. Jessica Miranda. Toys can be dropped off at locations in 12 Central Indiana counties, where they will be distributed to nonprofit organizations, before being sent on to low-income families who register ahead of time with those organizations. Toys begin to be distributed to those organizations as early as late November, Miranda said. You can donate online through an Amazon wish list set up for the program at this website. Just choose the category Indy Toys for Tots Gift Registry at checkout and your gift choices will be mailed directly to the local warehouse.
Empowering Indy is a nonprofit that sponsors its annual program, The Christmas Experience, which it says helped 200 families of incarcerated people, including 637 children, as well as others in the Indianapolis area in 2021. Parents who are approved for the program can shop at a fully stocked store for new toys, coats and shoes. Although the program is closed for 2023, you can visit its website to learn more about helping in 2024.Â
La Plaza, which serves Latinos in the Indianapolis area, offers an Adopt-a-Family program, which matches families in need with individual or group sponsors. The program usually makes its matches by mid-November, but you can learn more about how to help in the future by visiting the website or contacting Cesar Jones at cesar@laplaza-indy.org.Â
Where to get free books for your kids
Have you ever noticed the joy a child experiences when opening a new book for the first time? Founded in 2018, the Indy Book Project accepts donations of new and gently used books for children up to age 18 that are then distributed to students at Indianapolis Public Schools, as well as families that visit the Crooked Creek Food Pantry, located inside the Eskenazi Health Center Pecar, 6940 N. Michigan Road; as well as local community centers, pediatricians’ offices and other partners. More than 185,000 books have been given to area children to date. Visit the website or call 317-344-9817 to learn more.
Where to find a free meal for you or your family
The Indy Hunger Network sponsors the Community Compass website and mobile app, where Indianapolis residents can search for food pantries near them for free groceries and free meal site locations, and sign up for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and WIC programs as well as learn which Indianapolis stores accept those benefits. The information is available in 11 languages. Learn more on the website.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has a link on its website that includes a detailed spreadsheet listing more than 80 Marion County food pantries and their addresses, phone numbers and hours of service. It also has a detailed list of soup kitchens run by local churches, including hours of operation, addresses and phone numbers.
Indianapolis residents can call Indiana 211 on their phones or visit www.findhelp.org and enter their ZIP code to learn about food pantries and other available resources and services in their area.Dwight Adams is a contributor for Mirror Indy. Contact him at hdadams0621@gmail.com.
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