The Salvation Army Angel Tree Program has been a tradition since 1979.
Angel Tree serves thousands of children every year.
Angel Trees are on-site in shopping malls, corporations, churches and organizations.
Salvation Army Angel Tree volunteers devote thousands of hours of their time each year.
|
|
|
"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 |
|
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.
In Butts County, the program includes Angel Trees on site at the offices of local corporate partners and organizations. The local communities have fully supported the Angel Tree program, making it possible to put a little love under the Christmas tree for many children each year.
Connecting to Amazon... this process may take up to a minute. Please be patient.