PARENTS

We want to relieve some of your financial worries.

Since 1927 The Empty Stocking Fund has remained committed to supporting parents and guardians who may be struggling financially by giving you an opportunity to choose gifts to give them during the holiday season. In 2019 we expanded our offering to include a Back-to-School supply distribution in partnership with metro-area school districts. The total financial impact of the items you can receive for your children ranges from $150 to $250 PER CHILD each year.

Our goal is to relieve as many financial burdens related to providing for your children as we possibly can, allowing you to redirect any funds you may have spent on these items to support your family’s needs in other ways.

It takes a village, and ESF wants to be part of yours!

BACK TO SCHOOL

Learning starts with supplies. Supply Atlanta’s kids for the school year when you support Kids in Need.

LEARN MORE

HOLIDAY GIFTS

Help light up the holiday season. Santa’s Village helps families gift Atlanta’s kids every holiday season.

LEARN MORE

CHILDREN SERVED:

16

core school supplies included

$50+

cost savings per child

7+

items in each gift package

$100+

cost savings per child
  • “The experience far exceeded my expectations. The staff was friendly and extremely helpful, and everyone made me feel welcome. The selection was of excellent quality and was given in generous proportion. Thank you for helping my family during such a hard time."
  • “ESF has been here every single year for my grandkids, and I appreciate them so very much because sometimes it was all that they got.”
  • I was a single mother of three children fleeing domestic violence. My spirits were down and I was so focused on rebuilding that I didn’t care about Christmas until I met with my social worker and she referred me to The Empty Stocking Fund. It relieved so much stress and made my kids so happy!”
  • I am a single parent of two boys. I work at a daycare making $9.50/hr. I have rent to pay, water, lights, phone, and a car note. I wasn't able to save anything. Santa’s Village was and still is important to me, because it gives my kids a sense of hope and the assurance that Santa hasn’t forgotten about them.”
  • "I’m a single mom of four with two jobs. Without ESF my kids would not have gotten any gifts.”
  • "ESF helps me put a smile on my kid’s face!”

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Please visit www.emptystockingfund.org/holidays for all the information you’ll need and to begin the registration process.

Be sure you are uploading a PDF format file (file name will end in .pdf).

In most cases, a Notice of Decision from DFCS or DHS can be obtained via Gateway. After logging in you should be able to navigate to Documents and click on Notice of Decision. The downloaded document will generally be named ‘accesscontroller.pdf’

NO! Due to Covid19 safety concerns, we will not be able to register anyone onsite. All registration and ordering must be done online.

Please be sure to check your junk/spam folder, as our messages often get sent there, unfortunately.

If you registered using the downloaded copy of your Notice of Decision from Gateway, our system is generally able to review that document to ensure it includes all required information which includes: parent/guardian name match, child’s name, and dates showing current coverage.

If you registered using a screenshot of any kind, these must be downloaded and reviewed manually. With thousands of registrations and only a few staff able to review documents, these take a great deal of time. We do our best to review and provide a response within two weeks.

On Nov. 10th we announced a new partnership with the YMCA of Metro Atlanta to help us safely distribute ordered gifts from 25 participating locations. Distribution locations are being assigned by the zip code you provided when you registered and details including your pick-up location and date(s) will be emailed to you by Nov. 30th.

All orders placed on or after Thanksgiving Day will be fulfilled from our warehouse in SW Atlanta.

Yes. Please send the authorized representative a photo of your driver’s license and we will release the gifts to them. They will also need a photo ID for our records.

Email the corrections that need to be made to [email protected].

To add a child, please go through the registration process again using the same exact email address and it will attach those children to your family registration/order.

PROOF OF BENEFITS

Please see the below list of acceptable forms of proof of benefits.

Proof of Benefits MUST:

• Be uploaded as a PDF document. Log in to Gateway or contact a caseworker to obtain a PDF copy.
• Show CURRENT coverage
• Include the child’s name AND the parent/guardian’s name and those names must match the names submitted via the registration form.

Medicaid / SNAP

Notice of Eligibility Decision
(View Sample)

SSI/Disability Income

SSI Benefits Verification
(View Sample)

Foster Care

Placement letter from DFCS / approved agency
(View Sample)

Childcare and Parent Services

CAPS Certificate
(View Sample)

WAYS TO GIVE