A woman named Shay Jackson, who goes by @shayshayjay on TikTok, decided to do something kind for the holiday season and participate in the Angel Tree Program.
If you have never heard of the Angel Tree Program, it’s put together by the Salvation Army to help children in need whose families can’t afford to buy them Christmas presents.
“Imagine being a child and not receiving any gifts on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, it happens across the United States,” the Salvation Army explains on their website.
“When parents are struggling to make ends meet and pay their bills, there is often nothing left to purchase presents.”
When you sign up to be a part of the program, you are given a child’s first name, age, and desired Christmas list, and that’s it.
Shay received a 10-year-old little girl named Ivanna for her Angel Tree kid, and Shay read aloud in her TikTok video Ivanna’s wish list.
Ivanna wrote that she needed clothes and wanted a Stanley cup, a Sprayground (which is a brand of backpacks that cost $100 and up), and pho.
Shay was a bit confused by the pho since it’s a Vietnamese soup and kind of a weird thing to put on your Christmas list.
Shay then went shopping for Ivanna and showed all of the things she purchased for the little girl. She picked up a pair of leggings and a jacket from Target, two pairs of jeans, two T-shirts, a pair of black shorts with a matching top, Christmas PJs, some belts, a cute pair of sneakers, socks, and underwear to cover the clothing part of Ivanna’s list.
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Shay additionally got Ivanna a Stanley, just like she asked for, and she picked out a light pink one with a little straw.
When it came to the backpack, Shay picked a much more affordable option than the Sprayground for Ivanna, as the specific one she asked for was $150.
“I’m just a 27-year-old girl, so I got this backpack on Amazon. It was $10, and it’s kind of the same vibe,” Shay said in her video.
“Last but not least, I ordered her a ten-pack of pho off of Amazon. I don’t know. Sound off in the comments what you would have gotten if your Angel Tree kiddo said they wanted pho.”
People had a lot to say in the comments, and an overwhelming amount of the remarks were downright rude. Some people pointed out that perhaps Ivanna meant a phone instead of pho, and others dragged Shay for buying a $10 backpack instead of the pricier one or picking out the Stanley that she did.
Many just bashed her in general when she was only trying to do something nice, but as they say, no good deed goes unpunished.
The comments got so out of control that Shay posted a follow-up video to clear a few things up and address how mean people were about what she picked out for Ivanna.
Shay clarified that she worked in nonprofits for the majority of her career but only just got a corporate job, which finally afforded her the ability to participate in the Angel Tree Program.
Shay was really looking forward to being able to give back and didn’t expect to cause such a stir. Shay went on to say that since you are given so few details about your Angel Tree kid, you really have to just do your best, and things are “open to interpretation.”
“There’s nothing I can do now but hope and pray Ivanna likes her gifts and do better next year,” Shay continued.
“Hopefully this motivates everyone to also go out and do an Angel Tree kiddo. If you hated what I did, go do your own, make it better, do a haul, tag me in it; I can’t wait to see. Just please be nice because I’m really sensitive, and I cannot handle going viral.”
Below are some of my favorite comments left on Shay’s video for you to read:
“All this negativity about “don’t choose the tag if you can’t afford everything on it”…do y’all know what happens to the kids whose tags don’t get chosen? They get random stuff from the donation pile,” one person commented.
“A Stanley and a Sprayground backpack!? Those are big asks for an angel tree. Not that they’re not deserving, but I think what you did is more than enough. The angel trees around me have like Barbies,” someone else said.
“I’m sorry, wait, people were mean to you for doing a completely happy, selfless thing?! No, I do not accept that. People do better!” a third person exclaimed.
“$150 for a background is insane! I think you did amazing for a 10-year-old. It’s supposed to be about having a good Christmas, not a luxury one,” another person added.
