Salvation Army 'Wraps Up' Christmas for Families in San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, TX- Today, the Salvation Army distributed gifts to 416 families as part of its Angel Tree gift giving event.

Over 1,100 “angels” (individual children receiving gifts) were part of the adoption process for this year’s distribution.

The event runs on a time frame for collecting donations through November to December. The set-up locations included the Angel Tree in the Sunset Mall and several Walmart locations. Those people who wanted to adopt an “angel” would do so through these locations. Ten days prior to the distribution, the volunteers collected the gifts and got them sorted for the pick-up event that was held this morning next to H-E-B.

Providing clothing from head-to-toe is also a priority for the Angel Tree event. This ensures each bag of gifts has clothing the families requested they needed before the distribution.

“We make sure and get their wish lists," said Jackie Rogers with the San Angelo Salvation Army. 

She explained there are six days where families apply for these wish lists. There is also a financial background check to see if families qualify before receiving the donations. After this, an “angel tag” is given to the children's sponsors to know what they need to collect.

If there was something the sponsors couldn’t provide, the Salvation Army uses the clothing donations available to complete the angels’ bags before distribution.

“We want to make sure every child gets that Christmas morning to have something under that tree,” Rogers said.  

Lynsey Flagee, one of volunteers for the event, mentioned just how impactful these donations are for the community.

“This is a responsibility to some degree,” Flagee said. “There are those who are less fortunate and we need to help them.”

She emphasized this is a community-led initiative, and the Salvation Army is great organization to accomplish this effort.

There are local clubs and businesses that also help with distributing gifts and donating to the cause. Some of these include Suddenlink, AT&T, and Neighbors Emergency Center, to name a few. Goodfellow Air Force Base also adopted 300 angles for this year’s donations.

Rogers mentioned the number of angels grows every year, and the Salvation Army encourages businesses to become sponsors for the Angel Tree gift giving.

Those interested in donating for next year’s event can contact Rogers at 325-716-3421, or email [email protected].