Angel Tree program to provide gifts for needy kids once again
Published: November 23, 2006
Last year, 17,000 children in Louisville and surrounding counties, including thousands in Southern Indiana, got Christmas presents thanks to the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.
“It speaks highly of this community, which doesn’t want children to go without,” said Marilyn Markwell, a spokeswoman for the Louisville Salvation Army office.
Through Nov. 18, the Louisville office will take applications from people who’d like to be helped by the program this year. In Southern Indiana, applications will be taken through Nov. 22.
Each year, Angel Trees begin showing up in malls and local businesses with the names of children 14 and younger who are in need of Christmas gifts and clothing.
Volunteers “adopt” a child by taking an angel, which outlines a child’s sizes and gift requests, and shopping for that child. The gifts are turned over to the Salvation Army, and families can pick up the gifts before Christmas.
Each family that qualifies for the program also receives a gift card from Kroger to help buy groceries.
Last year the Louisville office, which represents Jefferson, Bullitt, Oldham and Spencer counties, helped nearly 6,000 families with more than 13,300 children.
The Southern Indiana office, which covers Clark, Harrison, Floyd, Crawford, Scott and Washington counties, helped more than 1,100 families with more than 3,700 children, said Roxanne Haley, business administrator in the New Albany office.
As of Tuesday, nearly 2,300 families had put in applications for help with the Louisville office, said Jim Garrett, who oversees the Angel Tree program. Another 400 families have already applied in Indiana, Haley said.
Angel Tree tables will start showing up in area malls the Friday after Thanksgiving — the biggest shopping day of the year. They will remain in the malls until Dec. 10.
This is the 23rd year for the Angel Tree program in Louisville.
“We hear stories time and again about people building us into their holiday traditions,” Garrett said.
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