Holiday gifts for the incarcerated, a small gesture with a big impact: ‘They need to know people care about them’

Volunteers prepare gift packs with snacks and reading material for the incarcerated across Illinois, at Willow Creek Community Church in the South Loop, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. (Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times)

In a South Loop congregation’s basement, parishioners scuttled from one table to another after Sunday’s service, assembling holiday gift packets for people in jail and prison.

It’s a small gesture that can make a big impact to people in prison during the holidays, members of the Willow Creek Community Church say.