Each Christmas across the country, thousands of children unwrap Angel Tree gifts – presents given to them on behalf of their mum or dad in prison who don’t have the means to do so themselves while inside.
Donated and distributed by an army of churches, volunteers and supporters, the impact of an Angel Tree gift lasts long after the excitement of the ribbon and wrapping paper.
For children, each Angel Tree gift is a reminder that mum or dad still loves them and is thinking of them. For parents and carers like Natalie* – carrying a near-unimaginable load – Angel Tree gifts bear a heavenly message: You are not alone.
My husband Will*, the father of my three children, was sentenced back in 2023. Not long after, I began searching for what support there might be for the families of inmates. I knew how hard it was going to be to be a single mum. There are so many organisations out there that help with all kinds of things, but if I’m honest, I was thinking to myself, ‘Who is going to help somebody with a partner in jail?!’ It seemed like I was right – I found nothing.
The first December Will* was in prison he let me know about this thing called Angel Tree. He told me they help families in our situation and give presents to the kids. But then he said he had missed the cut-off to sign up for it. I guess I didn’t think too much about it. That Christmas, I bought presents for the kids to come from Will*. I didn’t have much to spend, but I knew how important it was for the kids to know their dad was thinking of them.
The next year, Will* let me know he’d linked us up with Angel Tree. When he spoke, I could tell he was really excited about it. I felt the passion in his voice. “They’ve touched base with me,” he said. “They’ve asked our kids’ ages. They’ve asked me what I think the kids will want.”
I was a bit shocked, thinking, ‘Sure, whatever, nobody does that! Surely you just get what you’re given with these things.’ But then I got a text message from Angel Tree and – to a tee – it mentioned everything Will* had explained. They let me know what my kids would be getting, and it was exactly what he had requested.
I couldn’t believe it. By then, it was our second Christmas with me as a single mum, without my husband’s income. We were pretty broke. I was just grateful for anything, thinking that whatever would come our way would really, really help.
But then I started getting more text messages from Prison Fellowship, offering other support. First a food hamper, then a store voucher. I couldn’t believe it. Surely we weren’t getting all this support from the one place?
I got a phone call about Angel Tree, confirming my kids’ ages. It really stood out to me because it didn’t feel like a ‘charity’ call. It was so genuine. Somebody was taking the time to check in with us, to check on my kids. I didn’t care about me – as a mum, you do what you have to do – but to have someone genuinely check in on my kids, that meant a lot. Like I said, I had found no help out there for families with a loved one in jail.
“For the first time, it felt like someone cared.“
A few days before Christmas, I got a call letting me know a volunteer would drop off the Angel Tree gifts the next day. When she arrived, I was on the phone, and it was all a bit chaotic here. But she just gave me this encouraging look that said “I’ve got you.” It was just so beautiful.
The timing was incredible. Will* was able to ring that night. I knew he was going to call, but I didn’t know it would be the same night the presents would arrive. Initially I thought we’d open them on Christmas Day, but he rang five minutes after they were dropped off, so we invited the kids to open them while he was on the phone.
“The kids loved it. The best part was they were able to open a present where we could genuinely tell them, ‘This is from your dad.’ He had organised it, and some beautiful, generous people had made it happen. It was really special.”
Will* was able to talk to the kids as they unwrapped the gifts, telling them what he had picked out for them. To my son – he’s four years old – we were able to say, “Daddy picked out the water pistols just for you”. To him, with his daddy away, that honestly meant everything.
The support didn’t stop. I started getting text messages about camps and activities for the kids. It was everything I’d looked for that whole year prior, and it came when I was at my lowest. I really needed the support. A few months prior, I had completely broken. I’d spent all my time running after the kids, being as strong as I could for them. But it was getting so hard. I didn’t want to have to deal with reality anymore. But then I reminded myself: you’ve got a life here; you’ve got three kids… get it together.
I messaged some friends of ours who have been in my life forever – they are Christian. I had always told them, “Look, I love you guys, and thanks for being there for us, but no. No to God. That stuff’s not for us.” When I finally broke, I messaged them and said, “I can’t do this. I just can’t.” They replied: “You know what to do – come to church.” And so I went… and I have been going ever since.
Just a year prior, I had been searching for any kind of support, without getting anywhere. Then suddenly, all these Christians were in my life, helping me. When I realised Prison Fellowship was Christian, I was like, ‘What is happening?!’
All these signs from God that He was there. He knew what I was going through, and He knew I could keep going for so long. And when I was just about to crumble, He told me, “I’ve got you.”
At first, my eldest daughter – she’s 13 – wouldn’t come to church with me. But then she mentioned another church her friend went to, and asked if we could go. I said “Sure, I don’t know anybody, but I’ll do this for you.” When we were there, out of nowhere, they started talking about Prison Fellowship. Again I was like, ‘What is happening?!’ Someone from Prison Fellowship was going to speak at the church the week after. We were going to be away, but I knew we had to be there. So I cancelled the trip.
Richard, the Victorian State Manager at Prison Fellowship, spoke. I cried the whole time. I realised that not only were families like me and my kids being supported, but inmates were, too.
“For the first time ever, it felt like people like Will* weren’t being looked at like criminals. They were being looked at like real humans who had stuffed up.“
As the family of a loved one in prison, it’s really important to feel seen and heard, because you don’t get that. You’re looked at differently. The jail itself wasn’t scary to walk into, but you do feel pretty scummy and yuck walking into a prison. And you can see the way the inmates are looked at.
But it felt different with Prison Fellowship. We felt human. It felt like they wanted us to feel loved. When Richard spoke, he made me feel like there was no judgement. That’s the thing – we’re all equals.
We all stuff up.
Not long after, Will* called to tell me about a basketball game some volunteers from Prison Fellowship ran in prison. I laughed and said, “But you don’t even play basketball!” But he was all for it, excitedly telling me all about it. I think it made a big impression on him.
Will* spent longer in prison than we thought. He was sentenced to two and a half years, but it was expected he was going to do about a year with parole. But then that date passed, and for a long time, we had no idea when he would get out.
Around that time, my eldest daughter came to me and asked, “Mum, how do I pray?” I told her what I had learned, “Start small – start simple.” I showed her a prayer at the back of the Bible, and told her to read that. I let her know she was probably going to feel silly, because I did at first.
A week later, she said, “Mum, I think I’ve got it. I want to start praying for specific things now.” So I said, “You know what? You can pray for your dad. We don’t have a date for when he will be released and we are so drained. Pray for your dad to have a date so we know when we can count down to.”
Three days later, Will* got his parole date. When my daughter came home from school, she said, “Oh my gosh, Mum, this is what it feels like to have your prayers answered!”
Two weeks before Easter this year, Will* was released on parole. For as long as I can remember, all we’ve really wanted to do is help others, and our way of doing that has always been cooking and giving food to people. At church, Richard had spoken about Prison Fellowship’s Easter Biscuit Bake, where people could bake cookies for prisoners throughout Victoria. So when Will* was out, I told him, “We’re going to do this. We’re going to make hundreds of cookies!”
It meant a lot to Will*. He really wanted to do it. He spent the whole week just baking. It was really special, in lots of ways. Not only did it reassure us we were on the right path, but it was also a way of us being able to give back. Through Angel Tree, other people had helped us and our children. Now he was out, we could do what we could to help other people.
– Natalie*
*Names have been changed
WHEN YOU GIVE AN ANGEL TREE GIFT, you’re giving more than just presents. You’re pointing families to Jesus and sharing the hope that is found in Him. Donate now to help reach more families like Natalie’s* this Christmas!
