Children shop with our gift certificates to "buy" holiday gifts for those they love in our yearly “pop-up” shop. Giving to others is the Perfect Gift. Each year we provide children the opportunity to shop for family members in our pop-up shop, filled with donations of goods from businesses and the community, and purchased with cash donations. Children and developmentally delayed adults that might
not have the resources to buy gifts for others, receive gift certificates to shop in the store. Shoppers are guided through the store by our volunteer "elves" who discuss with each shopper who they are shopping for, what that person might like, and help the them to pick the perfect gift for each family member. Then, the shopper and the elf go to the gift wrapping department, where each gift is wrapped to the shopper's specifications, and a gift tag placed, with the shopper's assistance. The shoppers leaves the store to return to their family, who wait in the anteroom lounge, or in cars in the parking lot, with their secret gifts ready for giving on whatever December holiday the family observes. Through our years of operation, we have observed that children indeed experience great joy in the process of picking gifts for others. This year, with the complication of COVID remaining a threat, we are blessed that the Baptist Church of Floyd gave us its "Annex" building for our operations. We have plenty of space for children and the elves to shop and keep social distancing. Masks are required for anyone entering the building. We clean with disinfectants frequently, and we have recruited many younger elves to shop with children this year. The Perfect Gift Shop will open in December 2022. While many children will receive gift certificates through the organizations that help distribute them, any family that wants them is welcome to come by; we have certificates available at the Shop.
