Angel Tree makes Christmas brighter

Published: November 28, 2005 | 2853rd good news item since 2003

IT’S as traditional as Tracy traditions get.

For a quarter century, Brighter Christmas has provided holiday meals and gifts to underprivileged families in Tracy.

One of the biggest toy-raisers is the 6-foot tall Angel Tree, located in front of the Footlocker at the West Valley Mall, where holiday shoppers can help a needy child while finding gifts for the family. [The Angel Tree : A Christmas Celebration]

Brighter Christmas Founder Gene Birk said the tree generates more than 2,000 toys for the program.

“It’s really important,” Birk said. “The mall has been so good to us it’s unbelievable. This is something we’ve done since they opened the mall, and they’ve let us have it there every year. It’s been a blessing.”

Last year, more than 300 volunteers banded together to assist hundreds of Tracy families with some 600 baskets of food, and toys for 1,200 children. Birk hopes to get close to last year’s record numbers. the program’s goal is to make sure every child gets a toy for Christmas. [The Modern Christmas in America: A Cultural History of Gift Giving]

By noon on Friday, volunteers Walter and Dorothy Gorr said bagfuls of toys had already been received.

The Gorrs, who are Tracy residents, said they’ve been volunteering at the Angel Tree for three years now, and Walter has been involved with Brighter Christmas for several years.

“Some people do it every year,” Dorothy Gorr said. “So they know exactly what to do. Some get really excited.”

Published in Charity
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