The touching story of the white envelope tradition reached our family over ten years ago and immediately became one of our favorite holiday traditions. Each Christmas, our parents would give a gift to someone in need in honor of us.
After only a few years, we caught the giving bug as well and surprised them with an envelope of our own telling them how we had provided a full Christmas (gifts, decorations, a catered meal, and more) to a family in need in Atlanta. The tears of joy streaming down their faces were the best gift we received that year and every year since. The annual tradition continued, and each year two plain white envelopes show up on our tree, each containing the most important gifts of all.
In January 2006, we began thinking about how we could spread this wonderful tradition to others. After many pizza dinners and late-night brainstorming sessions, we decided we would start a nonprofit in their honor as our “white envelope” Christmas gift to our parents that year. Thus, The White Envelope Project was formed to spread the word about this tradition and the importance of giving. We secretly met for months building the website, recruiting a Board of Directors, obtaining 501(c)(3) status, recruiting our initial charity partners, and fundraising. On October 8, 2006 – nearly 11 weeks before Christmas – we couldn’t wait any longer and surprised them at a family birthday celebration with a small white envelope containing a single sheet of paper describing what we had done in their honor.
As we have grown and our programs have expanded, this tradition continues to be the cornerstone of our efforts. We feel amazed and blessed at the success of The White Envelope Project, and especially at the expansion in 2009 to the broader Giving101 brand. We are thrilled to be expanding
This year, as small white envelopes find their place on our tree and thousands of trees around the world, we hope you will join us in giving something different.
The Lawder Family (Atlanta, GA)