The Community Engagement Center (CEC) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) once again filled with holiday energy as families, volunteers, and community partners gathered for the annual Christmas Store — a decade-long tradition that has become a trusted part of the holiday season in West Baltimore. Held Dec. 12 and 13, the Christmas Store featured tables filled with name-brand toys, dress-up costumes, science kits, books, and games, all available to families at deeply discounted prices.
Hosted for the past 10 years at the CEC’s location on South Poppleton Street, the Christmas Store is a partnership between UMB’s Office of Community and Civic Engagement (OCCE) and Foundry Church of Baltimore. For the second year, local CBS affiliate WJZ-TV, UMB’s Staff Senate, and the University of Maryland Medical Center joined a Season of Giving campaign — which also included the Thanksgiving Drive — to help raise funds for the store’s inventory. Along with monetary donations from the campus community, those efforts allowed organizers to purchase toys and gifts that families could affordably select for their holiday celebrations.
A family browses the Christmas Store, where discounted name-brand toys ranged from arts-and-crafts and science kits to games and dress-up costumes.
“The Christmas Store would not be possible without the generosity of our campus community, the wider Baltimore community, and our partners,” said Brian Sturdivant, MSW, director of strategic initiatives and community partnerships at UMB. “Every year, their generosity has a big impact on our efforts to support families in West Baltimore.”
Donors supported the campaign by contributing funds or purchasing full-priced toys through Foundry Church’s online gift registry. Those contributions helped stock the Christmas Store with a wide selection of gifts sold for between $1 and $15, giving families the opportunity to choose presents for their children at accessible prices.
From the beginning, the Christmas Store was intentionally designed to center parents and caregivers in the holiday experience. According to Lindsay Ferguson, operations pastor at Foundry Church, the goal was to rethink traditional holiday giving models and create a space that honors dignity and choice.
“The Christmas Store started because we looked at giving models that existed, and a lot of them, they say, like, ‘Hey, you just sit on the sidelines and we’ll take care of your kids for you,’ ” Ferguson said. “We said, how do we include parents in that process and help parents find the dignity and joy of being able to pick out and pay for gifts for their kids, but at a price point that they can actually afford?”
That emphasis on choice and the experience of giving has kept families returning to the event, including Angela Walker, a longtime shopper at the Christmas Store.
“I come every year,” Walker said. She said she initially shopped for her son but now returns to find gifts for her grandson. “I got him a truck. I got him a drum set. I got him a few things I can’t actually remember — but I got him a nice amount of stuff. I love it.”
As families browsed tables filled with toys and books, volunteers helped keep the store running smoothly, helping shoppers select presents and providing gift wrapping free of charge.
By the end of the two-day event, over 875 toys were sold to 137 families, and 900 books were given away by the Maryland Book Bank. Proceeds from the sales, which totaled over $650, will be donated to Southwest Baltimore nonprofits focused on youth development and athletics.
“This is something that has become a tradition in the community,” Sturdivant said, noting the familiarity the store now holds for many West Baltimore families. “People expect it. I think it’s becoming a neighborhood institution.”
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