Our names are Jeffrey & Kristen Sterner and we created our non-profit called, "Gifts From Angels". The name means that when we help someone out, the gifts are from angels. We believe in giving back to our community and helping others.

We have wanted to create our non-profit for many years from when we lived in Allentown, Pennsylvania but it wasn't the right time just yet. When we decided to move to Fredericksburg, Virginia in 2013 and then we finally bought our house in 2020 right before covid struck, was when we decided to follow through and get our non-profit started.

The reason we decided to start our non-profit was our daughter Kelly was in the hospital back in 2009 in Allentown, Pennsylvania and was diagnosed with rotavirus right before Easter. Kelly was so upset and heartbroken due to the fact that we were told originally that she would be in the hospital till after Easter. All she did was cry and say the Easter bunny would never find her. The day before Easter, Kelly was released from the hospital and could go home. She was so happy and thrilled. After that, we thought about starting a non-profit but we were undecided on where and when we were going to move.

In May 2011, my mom passed away and that started to make us think where we wanted to go from there. In June 2013, we came to Fredericksburg, Virginia to visit family and have a nice vacation. That is when we decided to move here and get settled first until we knew when the right time was for us to start our non-profit.

Our non-profit revolves around the children and giving back to the community. When we saw that the simplest thing made our daughter happy to just go home and know the Easter Bunny would find her, that is why we focus around the children and giving back to the community.

We currently have a relationship with Mary Washington Hospital Pediatrics and have created relationships with area businesses throughout the year. Christmas and Easter are the biggest times of the year BUT we do collect donations all year long to help in the event of someone in need.

During Christmas time, we actually have a Christmas display of lights and we do this at our home for all the children. When we see the same children come by every year, that is what makes it special for us. We also have a special guest show up at our house at times pending how busy their schedule is. Santa Claus will stop by our house and will visit Mary Washington Hospital Pediatric Unit a few days before Christmas to drop off the goodies for the children. During Easter, we have a special guest go on Easter Sunday with us to drop off the goodies we have collected for the children.

The donations of toys we collect are based on ages 6 months to 18 years of age. We accept donations all year round in many ways whether it is toys, gift cards or money and everything we collect, goes 100% back into the community.

Please visit our Facebook page called Gifts From Angels. We update as often as we can and when we have fundraisers or any updates on donations, etc. everything will be on our Facebook page.