Giving Tree happening this weekend at Mall of Amierica to help struggling families

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - This weekend, the annual Giving Tree event at the Mall of America offers a chance to support Catholic Charities by donating essential items to families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

Mall of America Giving Tree

Big picture view:

The Ramsey County Family Service Center in Maplewood serves as a transitional home for 21 families, including Raven Hampton and her children.

"It's going really well. Me and my children love it," said Hampton about the help she’s getting in from the staff on everything from childcare to establishing a savings plan for when she’s able to move into stable housing. "It's just a lot of help and everybody has things that they give us to make sure that we are on the right track."

Many families arrive at the service center with nothing but the clothes they’re wearing.

"Some families have been living in their cars, some are in really unsafe situations, and they come in and they're exhausted," said Allie Shaul, a program director for Catholic Charities.

And that’s in part where University of St. Thomas Professor Mike Klein comes in. Klein and several of his peace studies and social justice students have been working with the families to create a mural on a shelter wall from pictures the children have created symbolizing their visions of comfort and hope.

"They're in transition, and they're in a space that is, I think, welcoming on one hand, and uncertain on another," said Klein about his work with the families. "And so being able to change the space, to make it their own, to add their image and their idea to the space really shapes their experience here."

The need:

Many of these families arriving at the shelter need basic living supplies.

"A lot of us, we come here and we don't have things because a lot our things are in storage," said Hampton of the challenges of arriving at the family service center.

One of their first trips is down the hallway to the clothing closet.

"The shoes are important, and socks and underwear," said Shaul of the bins of new clothing essentials along with the racks of shirts and pants. "And it's cold in Minnesota, so it is important to have those warm winter coats and hats and mittens."

A separate room has hygiene products such as deodorants, hair care products, and toiletry needs. And when the families transition into stable housing, they’re given a bucket of cleaning supplies for their new home. Almost all of it comes from donations.

The Giving Tree event

What you can do:

The Giving Tree event at the Macy’s Court in the Mall of America the weekend before Christmas is the opportunity for people to donate clothing items to Catholic Charities.

Volunteers will have decorated Christmas trees set up containing paper ornaments with the image of a person served by Catholic Charities and the needs they have. Shoppers are asked to select an ornament from the tree and buy some of the items on each ornament and drop them off with the Catholic Charities staff. The items go to the Catholic Charities warehouse, where program supervisors such as Allie Shaul bring many of the items to their sites based upon the needs of their clients.

Shoppers can also help assemble sock-in-rolls, which are cold weather packages consisting of socks, hand warmers, lip balm, tissues, and lotion.

This year North Star Therapy Animals will have a collection of alpacas, llamas, dogs and cats at the event for shoppers to meet.

The Giving Tree event runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, and Sunday, Dec. 21.

What they're saying:

"I wish the people that donated could see us handing the families the items that they donate because it gives a big smile on their faces and just helps them feel secure," said Allie Shaul.

As for Hampton and her children, they’re on their way to planning for their next chapter knowing that they’re getting a helping hand from a Twin Cities community that steps forward to donate to Catholic Charities.

"No one judges you in your situation," said Hampton. "Everybody is so caring and so loving. They care about your situation and your children. It's just been special for me and my kids."