- When Shay Jackson first drew the Angel Tree tile for a 10-year-old girl, she was a little confused by some of the girl’s requests, which included a $150 backpack, a Stanley Cup and pho
- After purchasing the items, Jackson posted on TikTok, with comments questioning whether the 27-year-old had actually fulfilled the child’s wishes
- Speaking to PEOPLE, Jackson says he stands by his purchases and hopes to inspire others to become Angle Tree donors
The woman’s Christmas tree has sparked a debate on the Internet, with many wondering if it really fulfilled the child’s wishes.
In a TikTok video, event organizer Shay Jackson, who goes by the social media name @shayjay, shows off the items she bought for her child from Angel Tree. The Angel Tree program, run by the Salvation Army, allows donors to register and provide new clothes or toys for children from families in need during the holidays.
In the video, Jackson explains that her child, Angel Tree, is a ten-year-old girl named Ivanna. Some of the items on Ivanna’s Christmas list included clothes, a Stanley mug, a $150 Sprayground backpack, and pho. But after she posted what she bought on TikTok — which included a $20 backpack from Amazon, clothes from Target and a packet of pho soup — the video went viral, garnering more than 9.4 million views and 7,000 comments.
“I got a lot of mixed reviews about Stanley and the soup,” Jackson, 27, told PEOPLE exclusively. “People said I should have bought a big Stanley with a handle, and others said she meant to say ‘phone’, not ‘pho.'”
“I still stand by both of my decisions because the Stanley I bought is leak proof and I would never buy a 10-year-old a phone without parental permission,” adds the West Palm Beach, Fla., native. “At the end of the day, I did my best given very vague information and I’m okay with that.”
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Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Jackson explains how when she first pulled out her Angel Tree tile, she was a bit confused by some of the girl’s demands. For example, she didn’t know what a Sprayground backpack was and wasn’t sure what the kid meant by “pho.”
Nevertheless, she decided to start shopping because she didn’t want the ten-year-old not to be chosen and to end up with nothing.
“I didn’t have as much time to get her gifts as I had hoped,” Jackson says. “I went shopping for her with my boyfriend and my roommate, and they helped me pick out a lot of things. I spent about $150 at Target buying her clothes, accessories and shoes.”
“I realized that the items she ‘needs’ are the most important, so I spent most of my time and resources on clothing,” she adds. “I made this my biggest investment and I put a lot of thought into it, hoping to be able to create several different outfits with the pieces I bought.”
“For her wishes, I wanted to make sure I got everything I could, but there was limited time given the deadline,” she continues. “So I ordered a Stanley, backpack, and pho from Amazon for a total of about $45 (and thankfully they arrived very quickly). My total cost was about $200.”
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Shay Jackson paints baby clothes for Angel Tree.
Shay Jackson
For Jackson, who used to work in a non-profit organization, giving is her love language. She says she has a lot of fun shopping for others and preparing the perfect gifts. She originally thought that making drag videos for TikTok was a good way to encourage others to get involved in giving back.
“There are so many ways to give back and it can be so much fun,” she says. “Find a cause near and dear to your heart and find out how you can support them! If you don’t have money, you can give your time. And if you don’t have a lot of time, you can support them by sharing your mission with others and through social media!”
But after posting and noticing all the negative comments, she was stunned, and decided to share an apology video, which also went viral, garnering 7.9 million views and 2,400 comments.
“I never expected this video to go viral,” Jackson admits. “I really thought I would get 200 views and a comment from my mom. When it started blowing up, I was so worried because not everyone was kind and positive at first.”
She continues: “I was afraid that my video had landed on the wrong side of TikTok, and I was getting so much hate that I had to stop looking at my notifications. However, I tried to use this as an opportunity to encourage others to give back this holiday season, especially if didn’t agree with the way I did it, I told them to use it as motivation to go out and be better than me.”
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Shay Jackson photographs the Angel Tree wish list.
Shay Jackson
Looking back, Jackson says she’s confident she did the best she could, given the time constraints and limited details. However, if she could go back, she would get two Stanley cups to ensure she had one that was trendy and one that would be good for school.
“Please remember that spending time, effort and money on a child in need is an amazing thing, especially during the holidays when life can be quite expensive,” she adds. “Don’t think too much and don’t look at the comments on the internet. You are making a difference in a child’s life and it’s amazing!”
“I’m not going to let the negative comments deter me from fighting back in any way I can,” she adds. “If everyone who comments something negative on my TikTok donates to a local nonprofit, we could raise thousands.”
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Source: HIS Education