Provide a “Home for the Holidays” Gift Bag

We would love your support in providing “Home for the Holidays” Gift Bags for residents of the Our Saviour’s Housing Permanent Supportive Housing Program this year! Please read carefully, as the list of items in each gift has changed since last year!  

Complete gift bags may be dropped off until February 13th, 2026. Our goal is to collect 105 gift bags of equal value so that every participant in our program receives a gift bag this winter.

1. Use our Sign-Up Genius page here to select one or more gift bags to sponsor. Please note that based on feedback from participants, this year most baskets have a different size listed for the t-shirts than the underwear.

2. Begin collecting items for your Home for the Holidays Gift Bags. Every bag should include:

• • 1 pair of winter mittens or gloves (new)  **if possible, please provide hearty winter gloves, rather than thin knit gloves**
  • 1 winter hat (new)
  • 1 5-pack or 6-pack of underwear (new)
  • 1 6-pack of T-shirts (new)
  • $10 to $15 in snacks or treats (ex: Chips, candy, hot chocolate, coffee)
  • A $25 gift card (Visa, Mastercard, or Target are preferred for client choice) – please select a gift card of exactly this amount to keep things fair for all our participants.
  • Durable reusable grocery bag (store all items inside this bag)

**Out of fairness, please do not include any items other than those on this list.**

Thanks for shopping with inclusion and choice in mind! Additionally, please ensure that each bag has all items listed, and no additional items. This helps promote equity among our participants.  

3. Prepare your bag, ensuring that each bag includes every item listed, and no additional items, please. We ask each Home for the Holidays Gift Bags Builder to store your items in a durable reusable grocery bag, or a similar bag if a grocery bag isn’t quite large enough to hold your items. Once you have added all the items to your bag, please label each bag with the gender and sizes that you kit was built for.

4. Use the link below to schedule a date and time to drop off your completed Home for the Holidays Gift Bag(s) at our south Minneapolis campus (near 24th and Chicago).

Winter Basket Drop-Off Appointment – Our Saviour’s Housing 

Weekday, daytime drop-offs will typically be to 2314 Elliot Avenue. Evening and weekend drop-offs will typically be directed to 2315 Chicago Avenue. These addresses are across an alley from one another, and share a parking lot. We will share parking information with you and confirm which address to bring your items to after your drop-off date/time is selected. Please note that these donations should not be dropped off at our emergency shelter. 

If you don’t see a time frame that works for you or need assistance with scheduling, please contact Robin for assistance.    

Thank you for giving your time and other resources to bring some winter cheer and household essentials to our residents!

Have questions? Please contact Robin Kennedy, Development and Communications Director at volunteer@oscs-mn.org or 612-386-6626.  

New this year:  

If you would like to contribute and can’t support a full gift basket (or live outside of Minnesota, or would prefer to contribute to bulk), we have included many of the needed items on a new Amazon Wish List. Please consider purchasing single items or having them shipped to our location. Staff or volunteers will assemble additional kits using items we receive.  Additional packs of underwear and t-shirts are especially helpful. 

If you would like to see examples of the types of items that might go into a kit, here are some links below sourced from Walmart. We encourage you to shop for items wherever you would like, and hope this might be a helpful starting place for some! 

• Men’s winter hat 

• Women’s winter hat 

• Winter mittens/gloves 

• 6-pack of men’s t-shirts 

• 5-pack of women’s t-shirts 

• 6-pack of women’s underwear 

• 6-pack of men’s underwear 

• $25 gift card to a multi-purpose store 

• $10 – $15 in shelf-stable snacks or treats (chips, candy, hot chocolate, coffee, cookies, etc.) Please keep in mind that some of our residents limit sugar intake, and some have trouble chewing. 

• 1 durable reusable grocery bag