The Salvation Army's Angel Tree program provides new clothing and/or toys for children of needy families. Each Angel Tree is decorated with numbered paper angel tags with the first name, age, and gender of a child who is in need of a gift. Contributors remove one or more tags from the tree and purchase appropriate gifts for the child or children described on the tags.

The Purpose of Angel Tree

• To provide toys/gifts for individuals in need;
• To eliminate the cost of toys/gifts that would normally be part of The Salvation Army’s holiday expenses, thus making more funding available for emergency needs such as food, clothing, shelter, rental assistance, fuel assistance, etc.;
• To offer the opportunity for supporters to assist someone in need by selecting an “angel” and purchasing a special gift for that "angel;"
• To offer supporters the opportunity to provide items needed by The Salvation Army for the holiday season, as well as throughout the year.

How It Works

• Companies, businesses, schools, and other groups agree to have an Angel Tree to benefit The Salvation Army;
• Each group provides a contact person, who organizes and supervises the project;
• Each location (business, school, etc.) provides a Christmas tree in which to hang the Angel Tree tags. The tags provide information as to gender, wish, and age (Note: Trees are optional and may be decorated with lights and simple decorations at the discretion of the sponsoring organization);
• The group determines how many “angels” they feel they can sponsor and informs The Salvation Army Corps Officer, who will supply the requested numbers of tags;
• Tags are taken and gifts are donated unwrapped with each Angel Tag attached to the gift (Please also collect unused and unselected Angel Tags for return to The Salvation Army);
• A suggested value is $15-$30 for each gift.

Sponsors

Each year, sponsors, ranging from neighborhood associations to private companies, volunteer to place Angel Trees in secure, high-pedestrian traffic areas within their community, organization or office. Many sponsors provide a tree as an added donation, along with promotional materials to inform their community, members or staff of the program, along with confidential information about the children who will benefit from their generosity. The sponsoring organization also serves as a collection place for the gifts and provides secure storage until a volunteer from The Salvation Army can collect the gifts for distribution, along with food and meals to help needy families enjoy the holiday season.

Volunteers

In many locations, The Salvation Army needs volunteers to help distribute the gifts, along with food for holiday meals, to the participating families. Oftentimes, employees and family members of the sponsoring organization help distribute their group's gifts throughout their community. Community volunteer and service groups, church groups, and retired senior volunteer programs often aid The Salvation Army during the holidays and throughout the year, but more volunteers are always needed.

If you're interested in volunteering, please send an email to Katie Perrett, our Volunteer Coordinator, via Kathryn.Perrett@USE.SalvationArmy.org, or fill out our Contact Us form by clicking here.