Children waking early to unwrap gifts under Christmas trees is a tradition for many families — and it’s one that the Salvation Army hopes to help parents and guardians continue annually. Owensboro’s branch is still looking for donors to help this year.
The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program coordinates gift giving to local children by placing “angels,” which are cards with shopping instructions for an individual child, at local retailers like Walmart and Hobby Lobby. This year, the Owensboro branch received requests from nearly 500 families for holiday assistance.
“We strive our best to make sure every child is taken care of,” said Owensboro branch captain Rebekah Abram. “We don’t want them to be without something.”
But the Salvation Army hasn’t been able to secure enough donors yet, and about 150 children remain unpaired.
“Normally the kids are all adopted by this point,” said Abram, who added that the nonprofit lost several of its regular corporate donors this year.
In addition to picking up the cards at retailers, people wishing to support the program virtually can purchase gifts online through the Walmart registry, which will then ship the items to their local Salvation Army. People can also directly message the Salvation Army in Owensboro on Facebook.
People can also opt to purchase a single gift — which is often warm clothing, books or toys — from the registry, Abram said.
“It’s important for the parents to know that’s not something they have to worry about this year,” said Aaron Abram, also a captain with his wife Rebekah and a former recipient of the Angel Tree program. “They’ve lost jobs and income. We’d hate for anyone to have that burden of ‘my kids won’t have Christmas.’”
