Jen Lilley’s ‘Christmas Is Not Canceled’ Campaign Brings ‘Peace and…Joy’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Jen Lilley is encouraging people to get involved with her Christmas Is Not Canceled campaign to combat “helplessness” and to “come together with people.”
“I started Christmas Is Not Canceled because of the feeling I’m feeling right now, which is helplessness,” the actress said in a recent Instagram Live, referring to the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict. “I try to be an action-oriented person, which is why I started Christmas Is Not Canceled.”
Christmas Is Not Canceled “started as a one-time mission to give Christmas to families in crisis during the pandemic [but] has evolved into a series of impactful giving campaigns featuring family-friendly celebrities from various networks, centered around fostering a sense of community that gives back,” per the organization’s website.
“I do feel that every child deserves Christmas memories or holiday memories with their family, and I feel that it’s really nice to be able to put your anxious energy into doing something good for other people,” Lilley continued.
She added, “I think that it’s a great way to come together with people and have some peace and some joy and feel like you’re doing something if you’re feeling anxious or paralyzed about all the stuff that’s going on in the world.”
Part of the Christmas Is Not Canceled initiative is Camp Christmas, a virtual camp and fundraiser where participants can win prizes and interact with some of their favorite Christmas movie stars.
“We get together and we have fun as we change the world for thousands and thousands of children in foster care,” Lilley explained. “Because the whole concept is that, you know, maybe alone I can only impact one kid. But when we come together, we can make the difference in the world of thousands of children.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Christmas Is Not Canceled:
In 2020, actress Jen Lilley started her foster care charity, Christmas is not Cancelled.
Three years later, Lilley continues to share the joy of foster care and hopes that people continue to help aid children with needed gifts and supplies.
Lilley recently discussed her charity with Larrissa Wohl in an interview on Great American Community.
“Everything on our site benefits charity and it’s just a grand, wonderful, fun way to get involved and to help charities fundraise,” Lilley said.
While the Great American Family channel star loves foster care, having fostered two children in her own home, Lilley acknowledged that not everyone is ready for that step. However, Lilley hopes that her charity will allow access for people to support the children within the system in other ways.
The mother of three added: “So now we do backpacks filled with school supplies for children in foster care, so that they can have brand new things and they don’t look isolated from the get go. We do that in the summer. And then we do toys for Christmas. Last year we did 20,000 toys to Toys for Tots.”
