Want to make the holidays Cheery & Bright for a boy or girl at a homeless shelter?

Thanks so much for volunteering to help with our homeless shelter parties. We conduct parties involving five shelters/agencies involving an estimated 125 children. Without your help, these events would not be possible.

Should you have any questions, feel free to call my cell at (717) 686-7503. 

See you there!

Mike Macchioni, President & Founder
Gemma's Angels


Shalom House Party - Friday, December 16, 6:00 pm

Add to Calendar 12/16/2016 05:30 PM 12/16/2016 7:30 PM America/New_York Shalom House Holiday Party 1508 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17103 Gemma's Angels info@gemmasangels.org false MM/DD/YYYY awsJWMchpzcFhauXImbd23788
  • Volunteers arrive at 5:30 p.m.
  • Location: Unitarian Church of Harrisburg (Basement Fellowship Hall), 1508 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17103
  • Parking: Use the parking lot of the church across the street. Santa and his reindeer will be using the roof of the shelter next door.
  • Gemma's Angels Party Coordinator: Jena Marie Vargas | shalomhouseparty@gemmasangels.org
    • The shelter will be serving their own dinner at 5:30 pm. but in following our mission, we will be providing fresh fruits and vegetables for the dinner.
    • Please wear your Gemma's Angels volunteer tee-shirt. If you do not have one, we will provide one when you arrive. See the volunteer in the Mobile Food Market in the parking lot. If you only plan to volunteer only at the party, we'd appreciate your returning the tee-shirt at the end of the evening.
    • Once you arrive, please sit and interact with the children and families.
    • Santa will make his appearance at approximately 6:30 p.m. NOTE: WE NEED A SANTA'S CHAIR from somewhere inside the building!
    • We will have volunteers line up on the back/side stage where you will ready the gifts for each child. You will present the gift to Jen Vargas who will announce the child's name. You will then go to present the gift to the child at Santa's chair.
    • We will be taking a photo of each child with Santa. Parents are welcome to sit in with the photo. help Santa give gifts to the children, then take photos with Santa. Photos are printed on the site and given to the families that evening. 
    • FYI: this location is in the Hill section of Harrisburg. Some tips: do not come alone--carpool with someone; park only in the well-lit church lot; leave and enter your vehicles in groups. Note that we have never had a problem in the many years we have been conducting this event.

Interfaith Shelter Party - saturday, december 17, 1:30 p.m.

Add to Calendar 12/17/2016 01:00 PM 12/17/2016 03:00 PM America/New_York Interfaith Shelter Holiday Party 120 Willow Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17109 Gemma's Angels info@gemmasangels.org false MM/DD/YYYY awsJWMchpzcFhauXImbd23788
  • Volunteers arrive at 1:00 p.m.
  • Gemma's Angels Party Coordinator: Lori Silar Zarefoss | interfaithparty@gemmasangels.org
  • We will be providing:
    • The shelter will serve lunch at their regular time of 12 Noon.
    • We will provide Fresh fruit and veggie trays for snacks at 1:30 pm. Sorry, no cookies, cake or other junk.
    • Christmas music (we have a portable PA system)
    • A photo with Santa which will be taken & printed there. Parents are invited to be in the photo.
    • We will have a toy for each child ages infant to age 12 (value of $15 to $20)
    • A gift card ($15) for each child ages 13 to 18 at Target
    • Please wear your Gemma's Angels volunteer tee-shirt. If you do not have one, we will provide one when you arrive. See the volunteer in the Mobile Food Market in the parking lot. If you only plan to volunteer only at the party, we'd appreciate your returning the tee-shirt at the end of the party.
    • Volunteers are encouraged to sit and interact with the families; we are going to try to come up with some type of activity
    • At 1:45 pm, help gather up the children around the Christmas tree to await Santa's arrival (sing Christmas carols)
    • Santa arrives at about 2:00 p.m. (note: no need to move your cars on the lot--Reindeer will be landing on the roof of the shelter)
    • We will have volunteers line up in the back hallway where you will ready the gifts for each child. You will present the gift to a caller who will announce the child's name. You will then go to present the gift to the child at Santa's chair.
    • Some children don't want to have ANYTHING to do with Santa (can you imagine!?). Use your judgement. Just hand the child the gift and go to the next child. Typically, the parent will be right by their child.
    • We will be taking a photo of each child with Santa. Parents are welcome to sit in with the photo. help Santa give gifts to the children, then take photos with Santa. Photos are printed on the site and given to the families that day.
    • After all the gifts are given out, please give a hand with cleaning up.
    • IF WE MISS A CHILD, immediately let Lori Zarefoss know. We will have the Elves double check Santa's Sleigh!

evergreen shelter Party - saturday, december 17, 5:30 p.m.

Add to Calendar 12/17/2016 05:00 PM 12/17/2016 07:00 PM America/New_York Evergreen Shelter Holiday Party 120 Willow Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17109 Gemma's Angels info@gemmasangels.org false MM/DD/YYYY awsJWMchpzcFhauXImbd23788
  • Volunteers arrive at 5:00 p.m.
  • Gemma's Angels Party Coordinator: Kelli Young | evergreenparty@gemmasangels.org
  • Evergreen House is a shelter for women in recovery. There MAY be some of their children or grandchildren visiting. If there is, we will have Santa arrive before dinner to give those children each a toy. We will assign a Reindeer GPS to get the Reindeer to land on the roof.
  • We will be providing:
    • A full dinner which we will probably prepare ahead of time and take to the shelter
      • Menu: Baked pasta and sauce, salad, fresh Italian bread, Fresh fruit and veggie tray, bottled water. 
    • Christmas music (we have a portable PA system)
    • A photo with Santa which will be taken & printed there.
    • Please wear your Gemma's Angels volunteer tee-shirt. If you do not have one, we will provide one when you arrive. See the volunteer in the Mobile Food Market in the parking lot. If you only plan to volunteer only at the party, we'd appreciate your returning the tee-shirt at the end of the party.
    • We need a party sponsor to buy gifts for the ladies. Last year, we had the women of a law firm provide a new purse filled with toiletries for each of the ladies. If anyone has a contact, please let Kelli Young know immediately!
    • Volunteers are encouraged to sit and interact with the ladies
    • We will be taking a photo of each of the ladies with Santa after dinner. Photos are printed on the site and given to the ladies that evening.
    • Please give a hand with cleaning up.

lourdesHouse shelter Party - sunday, december 18, 6:30 p.m.

Add to Calendar 12/18/2016 06:00 PM 12/18/2016 08:00 PM America/New_York Lourdeshouse Shelter Holiday Party 120 Willow Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17109 Gemma's Angels info@gemmasangels.org false MM/DD/YYYY awsJWMchpzcFhauXImbd23788
  • Volunteers arrive at 6:00 p.m.
  • Gemma's Angels Party Coordinator: Brenda Scott | lourdeshouseparty@gemmasangels.org
    • Lourdeshouse is a shelter where up to 16 women can stay at a time for maternity care and residential services.
  • We will be providing:
    • A full dinner which we will prepare ahead of time and take to the shelter
      • Menu: To be determined but we will at least provide Fresh fruit and veggie trays.
    • Christmas music (we have a portable PA system)
    • A photo with Santa which will be taken & printed there.
    • Please wear your Gemma's Angels volunteer tee-shirt. If you do not have one, we will provide one when you arrive. See the volunteer in the Mobile Food Market in the parking lot. If you only plan to volunteer only at the party, we'd appreciate your returning the tee-shirt at the end of the party.
    • The party sponsor is the Members and Friends of St Paul's Episcopal Church of Harrisburg. The folks are preparing gifts for each of the mothers. We will have a gift list online for the babies. We will also try to get something for each of the mom's for the babies-to-be. That will be coordinated with Brenda Scott. THANK YOU SO MUCH, folks!
    • Volunteers are encouraged to sit and interact with the ladies. We will also sit and have dinner with them. Needless to say, most mom's enjoy having a break from their babies, so feel free to ask if you can hold them. Cuddle away! If you have a cold or are ill, we prefer that you do not. 
    • We will be taking a photo of each of the moms with their babies with Santa after dinner. Photos are printed on the site and given to the ladies that evening. We will also take a photo of the ladies who are still expecting and any volunteer. 
    • Please give a hand with cleaning up.

General Party Information

  • We need a TOY for each child ages infant to 12
  • A gift card ($15) for each child ages 13 to 18 from Target
  • We have also decided to eliminate the gift bag program for adults as it became too difficult to locate items to fill the bags
  • Remember, we need folks to buy gifts or donate funds to for us to buy them.