Gift Card Snafu Disrupts Orland Park Church's Christmas Charity Effort

ORLAND PARK, IL — Alexis Rodriguez was finally able to breathe a bit Monday night, after several tumultuous days trying to address a blip that might have left many area families unable to buy Christmas gifts.

Rodriguez, who is in leadership at Firehouse Chapel, found herself and the church in a bind last week. The church's annual effort to distribute $13,000, divvied up among 130 Sam's Club gift cards, to families in need was jeopardized due to a glitch with the cards—they weren't activated, rendering those who had received them were unable to use them. The calls started late last week, with social workers letting her know about the issue.

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.

"We want parents to be able to buy gifts for their own kids," Rodriguez said. They had purchased the gift cards early and distributed them to reach families with enough time for them to spend before Christmas. The money is raised by the church throughout the year.

"We were super-excited, we thought we were ahead of the game," Rodriguez said.

But things didn't go quite as planned, with the activation issue rendering the cards essentially useless, until Sam's Club could step in. Calls, messages went unanswered. Rodriguez and her father, Pastor Steve Troglio, were frustrated and feeling hopeless. Rodriguez turned to social media in hopes of reaching someone at the store who could help.

"I resorted to social media, which I never do," she said. "I got on Twitter, and I started tagging Sam’s, Sam’s Club Help. I got an automated message.

"They have $13,000, and we have nothing."

Rodriguez on Sunday evening finally reached a resolution director, who said they'd address the issue—but that it would take 48 hours for all cards to be activated. Rodriguez's frustration heightened.

"I’m not one to air my business on social media, but these children have nothing," she said. "They had no hope, now they have hope (with the gift cards). Have you ever stood in line and then not been able to pay for something?"

With days before Christmas dwindling, news stations heard of Rodriguez's plight, contacting her to spread the word. The story continued to spread on social media.

In a statement to WGN Monday, Sam's Club said they "sincerely apologize for the inconvenience we have caused. Due to an internal error, the gift cards were not activated when they were shipped. We’re working with the church on a resolution, and we’re in the process of making sure all the gift cards get activated appropriately. Our goal is to expedite the activation of the gift cards so they can all be used as the church originally intended."

It seemed like such a simple solution, Rodriguez said, but it took so many attempts to make it happen.

"South Siders, they don’t mess well with this kind of stuff," Rodriguez said, laughing. "When you mess with children and kids in need, you’re going to have an army against you."

The church's relationship with Sam's Club is ongoing; they regularly purchase supplies for the Boxes of Hope program, often spending thousands of dollars a month.

"I need Sam’s Club, we can’t break up," Rodriguez said. "I have, at times, 50-something boxes coming to my house. We spend $5,000 there a month."

The media attention seemed to give them the nudge they needed to resolve it, she said. Monday, a representative from Sam's Club told Rodriguez the cards would all be activated within hours. The news brought Rodriguez immeasurable relief.

"I slept like a baby," she said. "I feel like a huge weight is lifted."

She's now concerned the families won't have much time to use the cards. But some time is better than none. A follow-up call from the representative informed her that only some of the cards had been activated.

"My heart is broken they didn’t get last weekend (to shop)," she said. "But I’ll take the win."