Many families in the Jubilee community mark the holidays with the arrival of the Elf Store, a nearly two-decade tradition that has become a joyous staple for kids and adults alike. The event hosts dozens of children and youth who “shop” for gifts for their family members at no cost, ringing in the festive season with lighthearted activities like cookie decorating and photos with Santa.

Among the supporters that make the Elf Store happen, Shannon Mims and her team at Guidehouse have gone above and beyond to make the event one families can look forward to every year.

Guidehouse is a global professional services firm that provides advisory, technology, and managed services to help leaders across the commercial and public sectors meaningfully shape the future. Shannon’s team at Guidehouse specializes in facility management and construction for the federal government. She and her team work onsite with numerous federal agencies, a kind of flexibility that is invaluable for managing the Elf Store.

“I first volunteered at the Elf Store with a colleague, and I wanted to keep that connection going as our team shifted,” Shannon, a managing consultant at Guidehouse, explains. “Anything we can do to help the community, we’re all for it. It’s a big event that we plan for internally every year.”

The Guidehouse team sources hundreds of gifts for the event and team members share their Saturday morning by helping kids shop, wrapping and packaging gifts, and filling all roles in between. Shannon works alongside Audrey Walker, Jubilee’s director of Youth Services, to coordinate volunteer roles, keep the store shelves stocked, and direct the flow of traffic as kids shop and mingle.

Shannon and her team also support Jubilee’s Back to School Store that occurs in August, where students get a new backpack and school supplies at no cost.

“I love that Jubilee provides deeply-affordable housing for residents in DC, and once I volunteered at the Elf Store, I was really happy with the faces I saw there,” Shannon said. “It was great to see kids providing gifts for their families, and it stuck with me because it’s not an opportunity they always have. I wanted to help lead that effort once my original connection moved on.”

When asked about a memory that stands out to her over her 5+ years of involvement, one immediately comes to mind.

“For four consecutive years, I saw the same family of young girls. The oldest daughter told me she remembered me at the 2024 event. It was remarkable to see how much they’ve grown over the years! I’m so glad I could be a constant face for them.”

Though the holiday season has wrapped, the spirit of giving still shines brightly for Shannon and her team.

“I never would have thought 7 or 8 years ago that I’d want to volunteer all the time, but supporting the Elf Store opened my eyes. It’s something I’ve wanted to pass down to my son, and I’ve brought him to the Elf Store and other events that we support, to show him the importance of giving back to our community.

The DMV area is my home, I plan to be here a long time, and I want to see us continue to share our success with others. There are so many ways to help, and I want to pay it forward.”