CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program has been a part of the holiday season in Hampton Roads for more than four decades. Here at 13News Now, we've been a partner of the program since 1984.
This year, we set aside December 6 as Adopt an Angel Day. Our goal is to raise enough donations for 757 "angels" to be "adopted." Every $50 donated equals one child "adopted." As of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday night, 595 angels were raised this year.
Donations will provide new clothing and toys on Christmas morning for local children in need.
You can adopt an angel, or angels, by making a monetary contribution online.
DONATE HERE: AngelTreeHRVA.org
There's no minimum donation. You can contribute whatever you would like, and know that every little bit truly does help.
The other way you can adopt an angel is to grab a tag from a tree at an Angel Tree pickup location. Purchase the item listed on the tag, and return the unwrapped gift to an Angel Tree drop-off location by the deadline.
For more about the Angel Tree program history, here's some information from The Salvation Army's website:
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 Lt. Colonels 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 local children’s wishes by writing their gift needs on Hallmark greeting cards that featured angels’ pictures. They placed the cards on a Christmas tree at the mall to allow shoppers to select children to help. Thanks to Lt. Cols. White, who was assigned by The Salvation Army to the Lynchburg area, more than 700 children had a brighter Christmas that first year.
Three years later, after being transferred to Nashville, Tennessee, the Whites launched the Angel tree program in 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.