Giftmart Ministry Takes Big Steps Back to Normalcy This Christmas

By Chris Moon

Amy Plummer says the COVID-19 pandemic certainly hasn’t made it easier to reach at-risk families in her community with the love of Christ.

But she’s seeing God at work anyway.

Plummer oversees a ministry called Giftmart at Community Christian Church, a multisite congregation in the Chicago metro. Now in its 19th year, Giftmart collects toys for families in need to purchase at a deep discount.

All proceeds from the sales go back into the local schools.

The pandemic forced Giftmart to change gears last year, when gift cards were given away instead of toys. Giftmart is back to mostly normal operation this Christmas season, with five shopping events at local schools scheduled for this Saturday.

But everything remains scaled down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“It will be different,” said Plummer, who serves as community cares champion at Community Christian Church.

‘A LITTLE CHALLENGING’
Santa Claus normally would make an appearance at each shopping event. Other times, a school choir might sing. Whole families would be invited to what Plummer called a “celebratory event.”

This year, just one member of each invited family will be attending.

“It will be a little challenging,” Plummer said. “In the same light, we’re just super grateful we are able to go back into the schools.”

And that’s where Plummer is seeing God at work.

The pandemic has strained teachers, who have seen firsthand this year the effects of online learning on their students. Some students are behind in school, and others have lacked the social services they normally would have received.

“It’s just been a hard year for schools in general,” Plummer said. “I’ve talked to a lot of teachers. This is a bright spot for them.”

MAINTAINING DIGNITY
Giftmart originally was designed to help families provide Christmas gifts to their children while still giving parents the dignity to purchase the toys—instead of simply receiving them as giveaways.

This year, the ministry will be supporting families at 10 elementary schools. Eight of those schools are comprised entirely of students receiving free and reduced-price school lunches—a common indicator of economic need.

The schools are tasked with inviting families to the Giftmart events, and Plummer said more than 3,000 families have received invitations.

Toys are sold for $2 apiece, and a total of $17,000 to $20,000 in proceeds will be poured back into those 10 schools.

Of course, it’s a challenge to collect all those toys in the first place.

‘AMAZED EVERY YEAR’
Plummer said toy prices are higher this year, and some of the businesses that had held toy drives for the ministry in the past are no longer in operation.

“We’re kind of feeling it from a bunch of different sides,” Plummer said.

The hope has been to collect nearly 10,000 toys, worth $5 to $25—all told, an estimated $150,000 in products.

When Plummer talked to Christian Standard—with just a few days to go before all toys were to be shipped to the schools—another 1,500 toys still needed to be collected.

“We think we’re going to squeak by,” Plummer said.

Now in her 13th year with Giftmart, Plummer said she always wonders whether the program will be able to collect enough toys. But she knows she shouldn’t wonder.

“I always think how amazing it is that sometimes it seems the math doesn’t add up,” she said.

“I’m amazed every year,” she added. “Maybe I shouldn’t be.”

Chris Moon is a pastor and writer living in Redstone, Colorado.

Amy Plummer, who heads-up the Giftmart ministry, is on the far left.