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!
CHILDREN SERVED:
16
core school supplies included
$50+
cost savings per child
7+
items in each gift package
$100+
cost savings per child
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)
