Angel Tree Program

The Angel Tree Program holds special significance within the RISS community because it directly supports children with an incarcerated parent.

For many children, the incarceration of a parent brings challenges they did not create and cannot control. Families often face financial hardship, separation, uncertainty, and the emotional impact of having a loved one absent during important milestones and holidays.

Through participation in Angel Tree and similar initiatives, RISS residents have an opportunity to help support children and families who are experiencing circumstances many residents understand personally.

Each year, residents may choose to participate in Angel Tree efforts through donations, gift purchases, fundraising activities, and other forms of support. In some cases, participation may occur at the individual level. In others, housing units, resident groups, campus organizations, or other parts of the RISS community may work together to sponsor one or more children as a group.

The goal is not simply to provide gifts.

The goal is to help ensure that children impacted by incarceration experience encouragement, support, and a reminder that they have not been forgotten.

Participation in Angel Tree also reflects a broader belief held by RISS: incarceration affects more than the person serving the sentence. Families, spouses, parents, and children often carry consequences as well.

By supporting programs that serve these families, residents have an opportunity to give back in a way that is directly connected to their own experiences and understanding.

As the RISS community grows, we hope Angel Tree participation will become an annual tradition that brings residents, volunteers, staff, and community partners together in support of children and families affected by incarceration.

Sometimes the people most in need of encouragement are not the ones behind the fence. Sometimes they are the children waiting at home.