Christmas Hits Hard for Kids With a Parent Behind Bars

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How sad would a Christmas be for a child who awakened to zero gifts under the Christmas tree? 

Unimaginable. 

Prison Fellowship makes sure that never happens, especially for children whose parents are imprisoned and unable to make holidays for their children. The organization is the nation’s largest Christian nonprofit serving people behind bars, those returning home, and their families. Founded in 1976, the organization works both inside prisons and in communities to support true rehabilitation, keep families connected, and help build safer, more stable neighborhoods.

“For kids with parents serving time, every day can feel like a life sentence. They didn’t commit a crime — but they’re paying the consequences,” according to their website. 

Parental Incarceration’s Toll on Children

And it’s more than just the moment of opening gifts on Christmas morning. “Kids with a parent in prison are more likely to face poverty and struggle with mental health issues. More likely to be homeless. And more likely to face incarceration themselves one day,” the organization adds. “Children, whose days should be carefree, full of games, laughter and anticipation, often struggle under an inheritance of isolation and fear.”

According to the Sentencing Project, “2.7 million children have a parent serving time in prison or jail on any given day, and over 5.2 million have had an incarcerated parent at some point during their lives.” And according to the most recent data available, 13% of Black children have experienced a parent being incarcerated.

Why Angel Tree Exists

“They might miss their mom or dad even more when they see other families celebrating together. They might even wonder if their mom or dad in prison still thinks about them,” Prison Fellowship CEO James J. Ackerman said in a recent newsletter. “That’s why Prison Fellowship Angel Tree was first created — to connect families and share the Good News of the Savior’s birth at this special time of year.”

And because of the generosity of local churches, children receive presents and messages with their parents’ names on them, so they know they haven’t been forgotten.

How the Angel Tree Program Works

The process starts with applications being shipped to the chaplains of participating prisons. Prisoners then fill out an application, which the chaplain collects and mails in. In the fall, Angel Tree volunteers then call each child’s caregiver to coordinate the details. Before Christmas, Angel Tree volunteers buy and wrap the gift, which is then delivered to the child at home or at an Angel Tree Christmas Party, according to Inside Journal, a publication of Prison Fellowship.

One former inmate, Pat Nolan, recalled the first Christmas his children received Angel Tree gifts: “These are from your father,” volunteers told his kids — and when the door closed, his daughter told her mother, “I knew Daddy would remember.” 

Support That Doesn’t End After Christmas

But their ministry does not end at Christmas with Angel Tree, which is facilitated by local churches. Many churches have remained connected over the years, so the kids don’t feel so alone. And Prison Fellowship offers a week of Christian summer camp and one-day STEM and sports camps throughout the year.

Prison Fellowship also operates the Prison Fellowship Academy, which provides support of all kinds during incarceration, with the goal of helping incarcerated people become familiar with themselves while learning the gospel of Jesus Christ. Their website says the Texas-based program, according to research, has yielded a 53.8% reduction in participant recidivism compared to similar groups.

This article was originally published to Word In Black on November 25, 2025.

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