Angels Bearing Gifts is a Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo non-profit that provides gifts and cards for the winter holidays, Valentine’s Day, and birthdays to bring happiness to people with developmental disabilities who have no family to remember them. Read more here.

Thanks to your support, we were able to delight 235 recipients during the 2023 December holidays.

We extend special thanks to Macerich for their generous grant to offset our rent at La Cumbre Plaza. Thank you to our new partner, the Grace Fisher Foundation!

Check this space in autumn, 2024 to learn how you can help during the 2024 holiday season. Or, provide your contact information on the form below to receive our 2024 updates in your inbox.

Angels Bearing Gifts

Angels Bearing Gifts

Our Story

We fly on the wings of your generosity.

Angels Bearing Gifts is the story of a mother whose adult child is developmentally disabled. What if I were not here to celebrate her birthday she wondered—who would? This mother became an activist when she learned that there are hundreds of adults with developmental disabilities in Santa Barbara County who have outlived their families or whose families have withdrawn from their lives.

Evelynn Smith started Angels Bearing Gifts in 1999, delivering December holiday presents to nine individuals with developmental disabilities who would have otherwise gone unremembered. Today there are over 200 beneficiaries to whom we declare “you are special” by remembering them on their birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Hanukkah and Christmas.

We are grateful for the enthusiasm of our community and their generosity in supporting our mission.

Become An Angel?

Volunteer

Ready to bring joy to those with developmental disabilities? This holiday season, can you help us: Shop? Wrap? Deliver? or Donate?

Donate

We can only carry out this valuable and loving mission when people like you support us through their generosity and enthusiasm. You can sponsor a beneficiary! You too can be an Angel.