My Joyful Heart works with intercity children, to help provide hope for them.  Diane Carroll shares a bit of her story:

“After the holidays in January of 2002, I listened to conversations amongst the employees who had young children as they compared notes on the number of toys their kids had received for Christmas. When I heard someone comment that her children had received “too much,” I thought about the inner city kids whose Christmas wishes I had filled and wondered if Christmas gifts were all that they had to look forward to all year. This thought weighed heavy on my heart and I knew at that moment that I could and would do something about that!

I contacted the school that the children I had provided for attended to find out what else I could do for them. I learned that one of the children, the little boy, was in special education and desperately needed attention. In speaking with the children’s advocate at the school, I told her I would like to continue to provide gifts for these two children not only at Christmas time, but also for other holidays throughout the year as well as their birthdays. She was understandably apprehensive; however, she agreed to help me by distributing the gifts. I happened to be reading a book at the time called “A Love Worth Giving” by Max Lucado, in which he referenced a proven study that revealed if children are made to feel special, they respond. I knew when I read this that it was exactly what I wanted to do for these two kids – make them feel special.”

Gift Card Giver was able to help Diane make a difference by providing gift cards for department and sports stores so she could help buy gifts for the children she interacts with everyday!