Angels Afoot
Celebrating 30 years of Angels Afoot!
Each Christmas season, we’re reminded of God’s boundless love for all people as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Through Angels Afoot, we have the privilege of extending that same love, joy, and hope to our neighbors in need by giving simple yet meaningful gifts.
Join us in celebrating 30 years of Angels Afoot—three decades of sharing God’s goodness and bringing Christmas joy to those who need it most.
Angels Afoot: Gift Drive & Toy Stores
Gift Drive FOR local agencies
With our Gift Drive, Riverbenders buy and wrap gifts for specific children according to their wish lists. We partner with Austin area agencies to provide gifts to the children they serve. These kids are often in foster care, shelters, or other difficult situations, and giving them gifts is a way that we can help provide them with a sense of hope and joy each holiday season. We partner specifically with organizations who actively care for at-risk or otherwise underprivileged kids in the greater Austin area.
Partner Organizations: CASA, Any Baby Can, SAFE Alliance, Healthy Families, Children’s Partnerships, and Partnerships for Children.
RIVERBEND Christmas Toy Stores
With our Toy Stores, Riverbenders assist our team in purchasing toys that we use to create our very own pop-up toy stores at our South and East Austin Neighborhood Development Centers, and in Mexico. The purpose is to allow parents to have an opportunity to provide gifts for their children for just a nominal fee, when they might not otherwise be able to, resulting in a sense of dignity that is emotionally significant. Many volunteers help with setup, shopping, and wrapping at these very festive and spiritually powerful events.
The Toy Stores will be open on DEC 6, 13, and 14, keep scrolling for more info.
There are three simple ways to help us this year:
1. Donating $
We know that this is a busy time of year. If you don’t think you’ll have the time to go out and shop, we have two easy solutions. You can simply click on the “Donate to Angels Afoot” and we will shop for you. Or you can click on our Online Kindness Store and choose from available gifts that you feel called to donate. In either case, we’ll take care of the rest!
2. Buying Gifts
Physical Gift Tags @Riverbend - select a tag(s) before or after our Sunday morning services at Riverbend Church during November. Purchase a new (not used) gift from the tag's suggestions or an age-appropriate gift. Gifts should cost no more than $40. Make sure to follow the tags' instructions — some gifts are wrapped, and others are not.
Digital Gift Tags Online - New this year, you can now choose a gift tag from our Digital Christmas Tree! Can’t physically make it to Riverbend to pick out your Angels Afoot gift tags? No problem - visit the Digital Christmas Tree below to choose the age & gender of child that you would like to shop for and we will match you with the appropriate gift selections. Then return that gift to Riverbend anytime during business hours and before November 30. Easy Peasy!
3. Volunteering
Volunteering with Angels Afoot is easy and fun. Each year we have volunteers that come out to help out each Sunday with our Gift Drive at Riverbend, and volunteers that help staff our Toy Stores in South & East Austin, and in Mexico. This year, we have the following volunteer opportunities:
NOV: Sunday morning volunteers at Riverbend - Register here >
NOV 9: Plaza Celebration at Riverbend - Register here >
DEC 5 - 7: Christmas Toy Store @ Mexico | Piedras Negras - Register here >
DEC 10: Gift Loading & Delivery Day at Riverbend - Register here >
DEC 13: Christmas Toy Store @ East Austin - Register here >
DEC 14: Toy Store @ South Austin - Register here >
For more info about any of our Angels Afoot volunteer opportunities, please contact Krista Ross.