Frequently Asked Questions

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At this time, we serve Crawford, Grant, Iowa, & Lafayette Counties in Wisconsin.

Any families who are going through financial hardship due to unforeseen circumstances & reside in Crawford, Grant, Iowa, & Lafayette Counties in Wisconsin.

Families can apply on their own behalf, or they can be nominated. Only legal guardians are allowed to receive gifts for the children in their care. Nominations must include the contact information for the family that is being nominated and the family will be contacted to verify information only if they are accepted by our program. 

Our application process opens on October 1st of every year & ends November 1st. Application links will be available on our homepage at www.christmasforkids-southwestwi.org during that period.

Every application submitted receives a confirmation by email. If you have not received a confirmation email, the first step is to check your spam folder. If you still do not have a confirmation email, then we have either not received an application from that email address or it was submitted incorrectly. Please contact apply@christmasforkids-southwestwi.org before submitting a new application to verify that we haven't received one prior that may have an incorrect email address. Duplicate applications could be flagged as fraudulent.

Applicants are asked to submit an application for assistance on their own behalf or as a nomination on behalf of another family. 

Missing or inaccurate information can cause an application to be denied. Once an application is received, a confirmation email is sent to the applicant with a timeframe in which to edit the application or verify that everything was submitted accurately. Due to the volume of applications we receive this may be the only time we contact applicants to verify information. If we do not receive a response, we will make a decision based upon the information that we have received.

We ask that those who are approved, & receive from our program, not abuse the program by selling gifted items as our organization runs solely on donations and volunteers. Those who abuse the program may be denied approval for assistance in future years.

Yes, everyone who applies on behalf of their own family will receive an email from the organization letting them know if they were approved or denied. Nominated families will only be notified if they are accepted by our organization. 

We cannot promise any specific gifts for any child as we are run on donations for all gifts given.  We do try to our best ability to give at least one (1) gift on each child's wish list, but it is all dependent on what we received in donations.  Asking for specific items does not mean that your child will be guaranteed to receive that item, if your application is approved. The more detailed the interests on the application, the more likely we are to be able to match the child with gifts they will enjoy.

Once your application has been approved, our designated team will begin to pick out gifts for your child according to their listed likes & wish list. All gifts will be wrapped with gift tags labeled with only your child's first name a week or two before Christmas. Gifts can either be delivered or picked up at scheduled times. For all delivered gifts, an adult must be present to receive.

Some of the most common reasons that applications are denied are:

*The family was accepted by a similar program - We cross reference with multiple organizations similar to ours to make sure that assistance is made available to as many families as possible. If a family applies with us and is accepted by another similar program, we will deny the application to our program to allow another family to receive assistance that may otherwise not receive from a similar program.

* The application was submitted with missing or conflicting information

* The confirmation email that we send upon receipt of an application bounces back as invalid

* Program limitations - Like all other similar programs, Christmas For Kids - Southwest WI is limited in the number of children/families that we can serve based on the resources and volunteers we have available for each giving season. 

* Previous abuse of the program or volunteers

There are several similar programs, depending on the area that you live in and each have their own policies regarding qualifications for their individual programs. 

Grant County:

The Grant County Holiday Project (Grant County Social Services: grantcountyholidayproject.com)

The Platteville Holiday Project (Apply through Platteville School District, can also be found on Facebook)

Grant County Shop With A Cop (Grant County Sheriff's Department)

Iowa County:

The Iowa County Holiday Project (608-930-9801) 

Crawford County:

Operation Santa (opsanta.org)

Lafayette County:

Shop With A Cop (Lafayette County Sheriff's Office)

In addition, many churches have holiday assistance programs available. You can also reach out to your local Social Services agency to inquiry about programs available.

When we get ready to start making deliveries, one of our volunteers will contact you at the number on your application to make sure an adult will be present at the time of delivery. Deliveries are made on the weekends, a week or two before Christmas.

There will be an announcement made with the dates & time slots available, along with the pick up location, for those who wish to directly pick up their gifts from us instead of having them delivered. Pick-ups will be the same days as the gift deliveries, which would be on a weekend a week or two before Christmas.

Wisconsin in notorious for tricky winter weather and we take the safety of all of our volunteers seriously. If the weather is unfavorable during our scheduled pickup/delivery weekend, we will monitor the situation very closely and will be in contact if different arrangements will need to be made.  If you are scheduled for a pick up and do not feel safe traveling, please email apply@christmasforkids-southwestwi.org and let us know. We will respond as soon as we can and make alternate arrangements. Delivery / Pickup weekend is a very busy time for us, so please be patient and watch your email for updates as they become available. 

We collect monetary and gift donations year-round to build up our inventory. In addition, we collect donations that support multiple fundraising and community events throughout the year. If you are interested in donating, please contact us for more information on how you can donate and what donations we can accept.

We would be happy to set up a presentation or meeting with your organization. Please email c4k-swwi@christmasforkids-southwestwi.org with your request.