The Family Giving Tree

We served here last year and plan to do it again this year. It’s a very tiring, but VERY fulfilling job!

Wow! What a fun volunteering event!!!
If you, your family, or organization is looking to volunteer during the holidays, check out Family giving tree!
Volunteer spots fill up quickly, so you must sign up early. The warehouse was a bit difficult to locate because the area was super dark. Regardless, be inspired to do something awesome, at least once a year. Always nice to give back to those who need your help!

Came with some co-​workers to help with their annual Backpack To School program. You walk in, sign in at the computer and it prints out your name tag. We were brought into the back warehouse that was just FILLED with backpacks, all in different stack and rows by age group (
). We were told to grab a radio flyer (
), fill it with backpacks for your chosen age group, then unload the backpack to make sure the bag was filled with all the necessary contents (
). If anything was missing, you go to the commissary against the wall and ‘shop’ for your missing item (
). It was so cute to see all the donated supplies and how generous people are to fill the backpacks with things for the kids. The thought of the smiles on their faces when getting their new backpacks for school was just an amazing feeling. I’m glad we could be a part of this annual event and hope to continue to be a part for years to come.

My daughter and I had the opportunity to help out last year sorting toys alongside eBay employees… it was such a great experience! I’m glad for organizations like The Family Giving Tree. So many children were provided for during the holiday season.

What an amazing organization. I volunteered here with a group from the Junior League of San Jose during the organization’s final Christmas stretch. I was blown away by how organized everything was. We were put in charge of «checking the list twice» — basically making sure that no one was accidentally forgotten. When we did find a name whose wish had not yet been met, we got to choose gifts from their «store» that we thought would be best suited for the kids. There were 1,000s upon 1,000s of things to choose from. It was so impressive to see the sheer bulk of donations that they’ve been able to put together. Translate that into smiles, and it’s a beautiful thing. I’d love to make coming to The Family Giving Tree an annual tradition. I can see it being an awesome way to introduce kids to charity, particularly since they’d be helping other kids out there. Makes it more real.
Truly a great organization, doing amazing work. Highly impressive. Come, volunteer and be blown away.

I’ve volunteered here several times and so have my coworkers at Cisco. I’ve never heard of anyone having a less than stellar experience. They are very popular over the holidays, but the need is year-​round! Their two large campaigns are backpacks in the summer and holiday gifts in December.

I was graciously greeted by a gentleman and walked into an office totally decked out with Christmas décor! I got into the office and chatted with a few gals before they walked me through the office procedures. Then I promply sat down at the computer and processed all the toys on the metal shelf. I created label cards by logging in the system for each shipping label, cross referenced codes, and put all the details on the toy. Off it went to the other room with the tree for the volunteer sorters to do the next job. It’s like working at Santa’s workshop. This place is so cool. Though their computer systems are not super advanced, everything just works.
I volunteered here for almost 3 hours the other day and felt so proud of myself for clearing out all 5 fully stuffed shelves of toys
There were a few high school kids unpacking shipping boxes and breaking them down as I worked at my desk.
I will definitely be back to offer administrative services.

Signed up for Family Giving Tree event through Hands on Bay Area and had a really good time! The shift was for 2 hours and this place is a well oiled machine! When you walk in you see all these holiday decorations and immediately you sign onto a computer where the system spits out a sticker with your name and who you are volunteering through. So high tech! I’ve never been to a place that had that.
Then we were ushered into a room to watch a short video on what we were going to be doing that day. Definitely got me excited.
Its great to know that thousands of volunteers come together and help kids and their families that won’t usually get gifts something to look forward to the holidays. Over 60k people in the Bay area will get gifts of their choice. Kudos to all the companies that buy the gifts.
What volunteer end up doing is sort gifts, wrap them, group them, and help prepare for agencies to pick them up to get delivered to families eventually.
This organization is also great for families to bring their children and see great it feels to help others that are in need. There are no age restrictions to volunteering here.
At the end of your shift you also get a nice reusable bag that has the Family Giving Tree logo too! Way to be eco friendly!
Would love to come back again for Back to School and The Holidays– which is when they mostly need volunteers. They say if you try to go to the website it may be say full but you can just drop by if there are only one or two of you and come by for a quick 2 – 3 hour shift. :)
Happy Holidays!

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Every year on Christmas time, I take my niece to volunteer here, to teach them how lucky we are to have food on our table, let alone presents of our choices this Christmas.
These unfortunate kids, all the want was a little simple thing, such as a 3 years old girl wished for a pair of new shoes? Wow! Another boy wished to have a new sweatshirt to keep him warm! Another girl wanted a new notebook. Simple things that we take for granted and these kids wishes for.
This wonderful organization — The Family Giving Tree with mission: The Family Giving Tree fulfills the exact holiday wish and provides backpacks filled with school supplies to those children in the most need in our communities while inspiring the values of kindness, philanthropy and volunteerism.
Jennifer Cullenbine and Todd Yoshida with a quest to change all that, since 1990 the have make these unfortunate kids simple wishes come true!
And this Holidays season, 60,000 kids in the Bay Area will have present for Christmas, thank you to the Family Giving Tree. My nieces & I are glad to be part of this! I told my nieces, volunteer don’t get pay not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.

In high school, I was in VSA (Vietnamese Student Association) and we volunteered here during the holidays. We would trade off helping the office as well as going to the warehouse to sort toys.
In the office we would close envelopes and organize typical office stuff.
At the warehouse was where all the fun was! The warehouse is HUGE. All the toys you see go to kid’s in need which is a really great cause. My friends and I helped match batteries to little remote control cars, add extras to present that were a bit small, and helped separate toys into different categories.
This is a wonderful place to volunteer. They always need volunteers, especially at the warehouse. I was really happy to help make a child’s Christmas, just that much better.
If you want a place to volunteer at that is totally stress free, fun, and rewarding, definitely call The Family Giving Tree.

I have tried to volunteer here every year since I first heard about it in 2000 so it has been a while. Back then it was a much smaller operation and it is amazing to see how much it has grown.
Pros: the cause is awesome — who doesn’t want to help kids get xmas presents? Working with presents and toys are also always fun. And you gotta give it to them for being super organized.
Cons: it hurts me to put any cons here, but I do have a few from my last experience here this year. First of all, it is almost impossible to volunteer here — they are booked up so quickly! And even when you do get in, it’s only a 2-​hr time slot which seems so short. That is generally a really positive thing, but I’m selfish and find it annoying to have to plan so far in advance to volunteer here. Okay — not really a con, but more of a callout. Secondly, it is just so automated now that I miss the more touchy feely days of yonder years. Example: back in the day the director of the whole operation would do a little intro to each group before they started, telling us how the organization was started, basic info, ladee-​dah, and thank people for coming. Today — it is on a DVD and you just go in a room and watch it, minimal human interaction. Lastly, I was a bit disappointed at the fact that there were so many volunteers and it felt like there was nothing to do. We were crawling over each other fighting for rows of toys to check and had to go back to our «Elf» to ask for more things to do about 5 times in those 2 hours. Perhaps another side effect of having too many volunteers.
Alas, this is a GREAT cause and it is a really fun project, but I may think twice about volunteering here next year. Perhaps I will volunteer at an organization that does not have enough volunteers instead.

I volunteered in the last 2 xmas, and it’s a fun & rewarding experience!
Great team building excerise with friends and coworkers too!

…The Family Giving Tree actually managed to get gifts out to *58,000* youngsters this year! Need something to get you into the spirit of the Season of Giving next year? Here’s the place to volunteer (or donate!)
Later correspondence the Communications Elf revealed that volunteers and staff are so into this that they do whatever it takes to show up, (avoiding getting sick/​being late etc.). Ms Communications Elf told me that this year their goal was to reach 50,000 kids… they beat that by a mile!
The holiday blur is beginning to loosen it’s grip, but the goodness of the Giving Tree continues to work it’s charm as I hear back from both parents and kids post-​holiday about how happy they are with their gifts.
I suspect especially with the economic spiral people were counting on our FGT donations to make up a good Christmas for the kids. FGT came through in a big way.
I also am remembering how even the pick-​up was fun (despite my anxiety about finding the place, getting through rush-​hour traffic, is-​it-​all-​gonna-​fit? interspersed with bouts of hyperventilation)
The gift bay (it’s a drive thru pick-​up) was tricked out like Santa’s warehouse and the ‘elves’ were dressed like… well…elves! I could have totally taken ‘true believers’ with me for the pick-​up run and not blown Santa’s cover. Actually Kaye did bring her kid, but he was so busy noshing on the chocolate chip cookies that the elves handed out… Elves came over hauling what looked for all the world like all the things Santa couldn’t fit on one little sleigh.
Ho-​ho-​ho! Coolness!

What an amazing cause and I am really happy I got to be a part of it yesterday!
My husband and I vowed that it was time to do more volunteering and to stop thinking about ourselves so much (I know… I am having a hard time with that already hehe) We were invited by his co-​worker to spend some time volunteering with Family Giving Tree.
This year in 2008 NVidia in Santa Clara has donated a warehouse to Family Giving Tree for their Toy Drive. Talk about a massive operation… this place is amazing!
We showed up and checked in and watched a small training video. We were then taken to a huge warehouse where all of the magic happens. The building was split up into many different sections and toys were all labeled and segregated into different areas by what they were. These volunteers have been working their tails off for sure!
Our job yesterday was to sort through a row of toys and bag them making sure that the name card matched the toy and if it was age appropriate and good for a boy or a girl. If not, we got to go to the «Store» section and basically pick out a new toy for the child and I loved it! It was like shopping for toys without pulling out your wallet but really it was most exciting to know that I was specifically picking out a toy for this little 4 year old boy for Christmas and that warmed my heart.
Everyone was gracious who was there and working hard! So many dedicated people plus so many kids helping out, it was great!
I really look forward to volunteering next year as many hours as I can. I had so much fun yesterday, I didn’t want to stop! 2009 will be the year for change for me and hopefully I can give back more to our community.
Oh and one thing when you plan to volunteer next year, dress in layers! The warehouse is ice ice cold… brrrr! Once you start moving around you can then take off layers but I found myself wearing two thermal shirts yesterday and a long sleeve zip up hoodie and I was a little chilly in the beginning.

I used to volunteer weekly at the Family Giving Tree: 2 hours every Friday. It was a great experience. The staff was so friendly and kind. They really appreciated my help, and I loved their positive work environment.
They do awesome projects to help out less fortunate kids during the holidays. I definitely recommend getting involved with this organization.

I’m in Rotary with the founder of The Family Giving Tree. Jennifer is such a sweet person. Very unassuming and humble. To think… this vast organization was the vision of her college thesis paper. And today she has turned it into a helps THOUSANDS of children every year. Not only for Christmas presents, but also for back to school back packs. If you’ve never taken the opportunity to volunteer for them, you are missing out!

Last month, I had the opportunity to volunteer at The Giving Tree warehouse. I definitely recommend donating a gift, if your company has a tree, or spending a few hours at the warehouse to help sort, check, or wrap gifts. The ‘elves’ there can use your help and it’s definitely a heart-​warming experience that is sure to spread some holiday cheer.

Yesterday was my second day volunteering for this great organization.
It’s so easy to forget those of us around us who won’t have a present filled Christmas, and TFGT makes it easy to give to them and make it a happy holiday for all.
I’ve volunteered in the warehouse for the holiday drive and the back to school backpack drive. The people are nice and it’s great to see how much the community is willing to give in terms of time and money.

Most kids ask for XBox 360, Nintendo Wii or Sony PSP for Christmas. Shoot, *I* want a Sony PSP for Christmas. Going through the tags on the tree in our office lobby yesterday made me grateful for everything that I have. There are kids asking for t-​shirts, pants and sweatsuits. Yes, there are also kids asking for scooters and portable CD players, but hey, it’s Christmas so everyone (especially kids) should have a chance of having his/​her wish come true.
So instead of buying myself a PSP, I’m going to grant 4 wishes. I challenge you to beat me.

An amazing experience year after year, Pru and I have volunteered at TFGT for the last five years. TFGT is a non-​profit organization that works with many Bay Area social services agencies to fulfill gift wishes for children and adults who may otherwise go without presents during the holidays. Each year our little group of two works side by side with families, young children, companies, department teams, Boys and Girls Scouts, teens hauling presents from one end of a giant warehouse to another, sorting, labeling, wrapping and generally making sure each wish is fulfilled. Wishes range from basic necessities such as ankle socks and toothbrushes to the really specific: this year, a 14-​year old asked for a Jim Brown Classic Cleveland Browns football jersey, size XL.
If you feel as if you’ve no more Christmas spirit left within, join us at the Family Giving Tree and you’ll find it in no time.