By Margot Millard, North Stake Media Specialist
During the recent Christmas season, members of San Antonio’s North Stake partnered with Seton Home on their annual Angel Tree program, which provides dozens of at-risk pregnant and parenting teen mothers with personal gifts and essential items for their babies’ care. Under the direction of Amy Livingstone (Sonterra Ward), volunteers inventoried, sorted, and wrapped hundreds of gifts for teen moms, and organized a festive Santa’s Workshop where girls could “shop” for gifts for their own babies.
This latest collaboration between Latter-day Saint volunteers and Seton Home, a residential facility providing comprehensive care for pregnant and teen mothers, served two important purposes: providing new mothers with necessary baby supplies, as well as helping them experience and enjoy positive holiday traditions that can be incorporated into their children’s lives.
As explained by Livingstone, who also serves on Seton Home’s Governing Committee, “Christmas can be fraught with trauma for many girls who have not had stable homes and happy Christmas traditions. Personal gifts let them know that they are valued and worthy of nice things. And when a mom goes shopping in our Santa’s Workshop ‘baby boutique’ and picks out gifts for her child, she gets to wrap them herself and experience the simple pleasure of giving to a loved one – something we take for granted.”
Preparing this kind of meaningful experience involved the recruitment of dozens of Latter-day Saint volunteers from around San Antonio, many of whom answered the call from their ward’s Just Serve specialist. Early volunteers organized wish lists and created ornaments for distribution within the broader community, representing each mom and baby’s hopes.
Then, for three weeks, men, women, and teens worked in 2-4 hour shifts, 3 days weekly, converting a training room at Seton Home into Santa’s Workshop. There, volunteers decorated their surroundings in a winter wonderland theme, inventoried and sorted donations, chose gifts for the moms, and prepared a “store” filled with hundreds of items that girls had requested for their babies. After “shopping” for their child’s presents, moms headed for the gift-wrapping stations stocked with colorful paper and ribbons. Volunteers also wrapped each girl’s personal gifts so they would have a special Christmas morning.
This year’s Angel Tree project, complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic, virtually eliminated the familiar sight of Christmas trees hung with “wish” ornaments in business, church, and school lobbies. Donations this year, however, exceeded expectations, resulting in surprise presents for the girls. Other stakes pitched in, with the Hill Country Stake making over 150 gift donations, enough to fulfill the wishes of six traditional Angel Trees!
According to Kari Stewart, Vice-President of Programs at Seton Home, “It was overwhelming, the impact that Amy and her group made. We could not have done it without them since we would have needed to pull ourselves from our daily work to help manage all the donations. They really took the pressure off of us.”
During the past few years, San Antonio’s North Stake has teamed with Seton Home on several service projects, hoping to improve the lives of young moms and babies in challenging circumstances. Says Stewart, “These girls are trying to learn a new way. They are survivors, brave young ladies who are trying to make a better life for themselves and their children. “
Those of us who have worked with Seton Home are proud to join in helping these young women achieve their goals. After all, these are the same desires we have for own children — that they, too, feel loved and encouraged to grow, with ample opportunity and support to become their best selves.