Who are the fairy godmothers?

The Fairy Godmothers are men and women just like you who want to help widowed and single parents feel seen and loved at Christmas. We believe that we can show their children that their mom or dad are still seen and loved at the holidays.
 

How can i help?

We would love to have you become a Fairy Godmother/father! Please click here to find someone in your area to help. You’ll shop, wrap, and deliver their gifts to their home to open on Christmas morning. We suggest spending a total of $25-$75 on your Cinder. You can sign the gifts with your name or just simply put “From: Your Fairy Godmother/father.”
 

Why do you call this “meeting a heart need?”

We believe that no matter how much money someone makes, they shouldn’t have to buy and wrap their own Christmas gifts and then pretend to be surprised for the benefit of their children when they open them. There’s a good chance that you may pull up to a fancy home to drop off gifts, and we ask that you trust that if that person is able, they are likely paying it forward and have adopted one (or more) Cinders themselves! We see it happen every year. So many of our Cinders are also Fairy Godmothers as well!
 

how do you know the people who apply are who they say they are?

To put it simply - we don’t. That’s a risk with any service project. Our coordinators do the best they can to ensure that we are helping people who truly need it, but there is only so much that can be done. Since there isn’t a large financial gain to be had, we’re hoping that keeps dishonest people away since it’s not likely worth their time. If something doesn’t feel right to you, please email info@thefairygodmothers.org. With your help, we can try to prevent people from taking advantage of the kindness of strangers.
 

I’m a widowed or single parent. How do I get help?

Fill out the application here (applications will open shortly). You will be alerted via email if you’re adopted by a Fairy Godmother. Please make sure your application is thorough and complete, and your address is correct, in order to be approved. Also, please note that things happen and we’re all human. There’s always a chance that even if you’re adopted, your Fairy Godmother might not come through. We try to do everything we can to prevent that by sending out reminders, but please let us know if you are adopted and your gifts don’t arrive. We’ll do everything we can to make it right!

Who qualifies for the program?

In order to qualify to be a Cinderella/Cinderfella, a parent must be widowed/single (not remarried, and please, no live-in partners), must have grade school aged children in the home (18 and under), no adult children home for Christmas (unless they have special needs), have some point in time where they will be opening gifts alone with their children (no other adults present to ensure they have something to open), and reside within the boundaries of one of our chapters. If we are alerted that an approved Cinderella does not, in fact, meet the qualifications because they left out information or lied on their application, they will be immediately banned from the program permanently.

Can I Nominate someone for the program?

We don’t accept nominations, for a few very good reasons. First, the Cinderella is going to be giving out sensitive information, like their address and phone number, and they need to consent to doing so. Second, we want the Cinderella to KNOW that he/she has gifts coming and won’t need to wrap gifts for themselves! If they don’t know it’s happening, then they will likely still buy presents for themselves, and that ruins the fun! We also don’t have any way to track duplicate applicants at the moment.

I would love to encourage you - if you know someone who would be a great fit for this program, you don’t need us! Go ahead and wrap a few gifts for them yourself - spending even $10-$15 on a single parent to have a few gifts to open is such an incredible gesture. Thank you for seeing them in their circumstance, and we would love to see you meet that need directly!

help - i need gift ideas!

We know how hard shopping can be, especially for a stranger! Thank you for agreeing to make Christmas morning bright for a widowed or single parent. We’ve come up with a list of gift ideas for you, and you can access that document by clicking here.