Where your joy went this holiday season

The best Christmas gifts don’t always come with a bow on top. They aren’t always stuffed in a stocking or placed under the tree. They may not even be sealed in an envelope or sent from a close friend. 

The best gifts often come disguised as small acts of kindness. 

This Christmas season, thousands of people chose to give Christmas gifts to their community through The Salvation Army. Volunteers sorted toys and packed food boxes. Folks rang the bell at a Red Kettle or dropped in some of their spare change. Shoppers fulfilled Angel Tree wish lists and bought canned goods for their local food pantry. 

By giving time, skills and resources, these donors and volunteers sparked joy— both for others and themselves.

But where did all that joyful giving lead? Who did it reach? What difference did it make? 

Here are just some of the places your joy went this season:

Anchorage, Alaska

Each year, The Salvation Army partners with the Alaska National Guard for Operation Santa. Typically, a Black Hawk helicopter flies Santa to remote villages, bringing plenty of presents and Christmas cheer. 

But this Christmas, the effort focused on children impacted by Typhoon Halong, which made landfall on Alaska’s west coast in October, causing historic flooding and displacing more than 1,500 people. Many families ended up in Anchorage for the holidays, some 400 miles away from home. 

Thanks to the efforts of Operation Santa’s donors, corporate partners and volunteers, more than 200 displaced children in Anchorage received Christmas presents to unwrap.

Aurora, Colorado

The Salvation Army’s eighth annual Hearts Apart Christmas Party invited military families from Buckley Space Force Base to go ice skating together, see a movie and share a meal from Olive Garden. And while the kids enjoyed a photo booth, music and face painting, their parents selected toys for Christmas morning.

“These families are in crisis,” said Salvation Army Aurora Corps Officer Lt. Carl Esquival. “Either one of the parents is deployed or the children might have special needs.”

But, Esquival said, he hopes this year’s event, attended by 250 people, serves as “a token of gratitude for military families and their sacrifices.”

Flagstaff, Arizona

Every December, The Salvation Army challenges young people to participate in community service on the first Saturday of the month, known as “I’ll Fight Day.”  Youth at The Salvation Army Flagstaff Corps answered the call by visiting a local nursing home with gifts, carols and hugs to share with the residents.

Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Rams and The Salvation Army teamed up to take 100 kids on a Christmas shopping spree at Walmart in West Hills, California. Each child was paired with a volunteer and invited to purchase $200 worth of items. 

David Weingarten, Rams Senior Manager of Community Impact and Engagement—who helped launch the annual event in 2016—said the partnership helps the team meet real community needs and create holiday memories with kids.

“The power of the shopping spree shines through in the heartfelt exchanges between kids and volunteers,” he said. “When they roll out of the store with new bikes or toys and their faces glowing with joy—you see the impact right there.”

Olympia, Washington

Some 1,300 kids across Thurston County, Washington, had presents to open on Christmas morning thanks to thousands of local bikers who strapped toys to their motorcycles for the 48th annual Olympia Toy Run. 

Every year, the event supplies The Salvation Army Olympia Corps’s Toy and Joy program with around $140,000 in presents. Each gift ends up in the hands of a child based on that child’s wishlist, brightening the holidays for parents and kids alike. 

“It’s hard for me not to cry on that day when I just see the joy and the hope that it brings,” said Corps Officer Captain Amelia Mott. “When people in the community get together and work together, we can achieve so much.”

Portland, Oregon

Community volunteers, including representatives from Walmart, helped The Salvation Army Moore Street Community Center pack 1,700 food boxes Dec. 10 to be distributed alongside Angel Tree gifts. 

Offering a behind-the-scenes look at the volunteer effort on social media, Cascade Divisional Commander Major Jonathan Harvey said, “We want to make sure the families we assist with toys this Christmas also have food for the whole family.”

San Jose, California

A generous donor fulfilled 16 unhoused seniors’ Christmas wish lists through The Salvation Army Silicon Valley Command’s Adopt-A-Senior program. The recipients, all Salvation Army shelter guests or lunch program participants, requested some practical items—bikes, jackets, gift cards, lanterns and shoes—and some personal ones, like San Francisco 49ers gear.

By providing personalized gifts, the program aimed to help seniors in need celebrate the season with joy, dignity and love. 

Every generous gift to The Salvation Army—time, toys, dollars—sparked joy in the community. It filled plates with Christmas dinner and put presents under the tree. And, ultimately, it helped build meaningful relationships that will keep the spark of joy alive all year round. 

Do Good:

• Join us in giving joy to families who are experiencing poverty, hunger, job loss and more. Your generosity offers joyful reassurance that even during our most challenging times, we are not alone.