Spots sought for trees for needy
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on September 22, 2013 1:50 AM
Christmas trees will soon start popping up all over Wayne County, and some of them will have a special purpose -- helping needy children.
The Salvation Army is looking for places to put up Angel Trees this year.
Here's how it works: You pick a tag from the tree that includes information on a needy child, how old the child is, what he or she would like (clothing and toys) and what size he or she wears. You purchase gifts and return them unwrapped to the Angel Tree location or the Salvation Army by a certain date. If you want to go the extra mile, you may also purchase gift wrap, a bow and a name tag for your gift to be wrapped.
Salvation Army Lt. Julie Igleheart said the families are not asking for a lot of expensive items.
"A lot of parents just need clothes and small toys for their kids," she said. "And they need diapers and wipes for their babies and things like that. They're not asking for Xboxes or TV sets. We explain to the parents that somebody else is buying their Christmas, so the parents are very diligent about what they ask for."
Any business interested in hosting a Salvation Army Angel Tree should call the organization at 919-735-4811.
Businesses and civic groups -- or even families -- can also adopt a group of children and take care of their Christmas.
"If there's a doctor's office or corporation that wants to take 10 angels, that's 10 angels the Salvation Army doesn't have to buy for," Mrs. Igleheart said. "Last year, we had a family of older adults come to us and say that in lieu of what they were going to spend on each other at Christmas, they wanted to spend on others. So they took five angels, and that's what they did with their Christmas money."
Mrs. Igleheart said there's a lot of needy families in Wayne County, and that every person is screened to make sure there is a need before the name is put on an Angel Tree.