About the
Hot Springs Area Angel Tree

The Salvation Army Angel Tree program reaches thousands of children every year.

If you have an opportunity to bring joy to someone's life, why wouldn't you?

Every kid should experience the excitement of receiving a present on Christmas, despite their circumstances.

Making a difference in your community…

The Salvation Army Angel Tree Program has been a tradition since 1979.

Last year, Hot Springs served over 600 youth in our area!

Our angel trees can be found around town in stores and local businesses as well as online.

We couldn't do it without the generous support from our community and the countless hours from volunteers.

Learn how The Salvation Army Angel Tree program and its donors help millions of parents and children in need celebrate Christmas.


	"This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God." - 2 Corinthians 9:12

How Angel Tree Works

1

Social service agencies and schools refer families to The Salvation Army for help with toys and clothes for Christmas. Participants are interviewed to verify that the family is truly in need.

2

We obtain the name of each child in the family and a list of desired Christmas gifts, and verify that the family is not receiving duplicate services from another agency.

3

Angel tags are printed for each child and placed on Salvation Army Angel Trees at area malls and in local companies and organizations.

4

Generous Donors select Angels from our trees, purchase gifts, and return them to The Salvation Army by the given deadline on each tag.

5

Upon their return, the gifts are taken to a Salvation Army Christmas Distribution Center for pickup by the Angel families.

6

During the weeks prior to Christmas, families pick up their gifts.

3

Angel tags are printed for each child and placed on Salvation Army Angel Trees at area malls and in local companies and organizations.

4

Generous Donors select Angels from our trees, purchase gifts, and return them to The Salvation Army by the given deadline on each tag.

5

Upon their return, the gifts are taken to a Salvation Army Christmas Distribution Center for pickup by the Angel families.

6

During the weeks prior to Christmas, families pick up their gifts.

5

Upon their return, the gifts are taken to a Salvation Army Christmas Distribution Center for pickup by the Angel families.

6

During the weeks prior to Christmas, families pick up their gifts.

A History Of Community Involvement

Along with the familiar Red Kettles, the Angel Tree program is one of The Salvation Army's highest profile Christmas efforts. Angel Tree was created by The Salvation Army in 1979 by Majors Charles and Shirley White when they worked with a Lynchburg, Virginia shopping mall to provide clothing and toys for children at Christmas time.

The program got its name because the Whites identified the wishes of local children by writing their gift needs on Hallmark greeting cards that featured pictures of angels. They placed the cards on a Christmas tree at the mall to allow shoppers to select children to help. Thanks to the Whites, who were assigned by The Army to the Lynchburg area at the time, more than 700 children had a brighter Christmas that first year.

Three years later, when the Whites were transferred to Nashville, Tennessee, Angel Tree was launched in the Music City. WSM radio, which airs the Grand Ol' Opry, came on board that year as the first Angel Tree co-sponsor in the U.S.

Because of the on-air promotion on WSM in Nashville, as well as national publicity on CNN and the Larry King Show, news of Angel Tree spread across the country like wildfire.