As the holiday season begins, many stores, schools, churches, and organizations are bringing out Salvation Army Angel Tree tags for local families. At Hamburg Area High School, clubs such as LEO Club and NHS get the tags. They are paper slips with a child’s age, clothing size, and a list of wants and needs that people can take to go shopping. It is a great activity for families to do to just give back and do a nice thing for others who can not. Seniors Bethany Stufflet and Morgan Riegel have both participated in buying stuff for Angel Tree tags on multiple occasions.
Bethany has been doing them for a couple of years. She loves to be able to shop for kids in order to give them a special Christmas by getting some things that they like. She usually tries to spend around $20 on the kid that she picks and specifically looks for clothes their size. Her issue with the tags, though, is that multiple ones that she has picked out have not had the clothing size or favorite color on them, making it hard to buy clothes or specific objects they would like. But overall, she loves being able to do it and will definitely be doing it more in the future.
Morgan Riegel has been doing it since she was little by getting them from her church with her mom. She tends to spend around $100-$150 on the kid that she picks, so she can really buy them a lot of stuff on their list. She hopes that the kid she picks can have a little bit of a better Christmas by getting some things they want. Her issue with the tags is that they are anonymous, as she would love to be able to help the kids more in the future by knowing who they are. She also can not wait to do more in the future.
Overall, Angel Tree tags seem to always be a big hit with people, as they are a great way to give back and to bring a little bit of joy into one’s life by picking out toys. Many people love that it helps make a child, who might be less fortunate, have a better Christmas by knowing that someone cares enough to buy stuff for them.
Children and seniors can apply for them at saangeltree.org. They require specific documentation to provide information in order to see if one is able to qualify for the Angel Tree program. Once accepted, information for gifts will be put onto tags and distributed to local public places, and whatever gifts are bought will be given to the families to put under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.
