'A Christmas Miracle' As Store Fixes Gift Card Issue For Orland Church

ORLAND PARK, IL — An Orland Park church is breathing a sigh of relief just days before Christmas, after an issue with gift cards doled out to families in need has been remedied.

Alexis Rodriguez of The Firehouse Chapel had hoped she and the church would be able to make Christmas brighter for local families in need, with $13,000 in Sam's Club gift cards given out as part of the church's Boxes of Hope program. But the store had not activated the cards prior to distributing them, rendering them useless.

Rodriguez made phone calls, sent emails, even took to social media to try to solve the problem.

With only 60 cards activated and still encountering issues activating the rest, Sam's Club executives stepped in late Tuesday, Rodriguez said. Several days, sleepless nights and public pleas later, there seems to have been a resolution, Rodriguez said.

They would give the families new gift cards for a greater amount, they told Rodriguez, and families whose gift cards had successfully been activated, could keep and use them, "as an additional Christmas blessing," Rodriguez said.

"Our prayer was that these families' blessings would double, and it was answered with that and more," Rodriguez told Patch.

The cards were included with the church's "Boxes of Hope" feeding program, a charitable effort to distribute food to area schoolchildren and their families. Started five years ago, the program was designed so that twice a month, participating families receive a box of food for the weekend, ensuring that kids in need have meals for the weekend. The program has expanded to include hygiene products and gas cards. The families range from one to eight children, with more than 5,000 students helped over the last several years. The gift cards included in recent boxes were "a Christmas treat," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez found herself chasing solutions for days, hoping for a resolution that would still leave the families time to use the cards. While maybe cutting it close for shopping, Rodriguez was touched by the store's generosity toward the families.

"They really came through and helped these families," Rodriguez said. "Now a family can get hygiene products and gifts for their kids. ... Honestly, it was a true Christmas miracle."