HAMPTON, Va. — Once a child or senior citizen has been registered or designated as an "Angel," the Salvation Army sends their wish list as an "angel tag" to donors who purchase gifts like clothes and toys.
"We have 3,100 children here on the peninsula that are going to receive Christmas toys this year," said Salvation Army Peninsula Commanding Officer Antiono Willis.
This year, though, donors came up short. The Salvation Army received 150 unfulfilled angel tags from donors and are now scrambling to get as many gifts as they can before distribution, which begins Monday morning.
"We are dividing and conquering, so between the collective of our advisory board members, employees, and volunteers, we are out among the peninsula right now shopping at various stores. To use a football analogy, we are at the 2-minute warning in the 4th quarter," said Willis.
Willis said, though, that they always remember the reason for the hard work that will be coming ahead.
"Our goal is to make sure that child has a smile on their face on Christmas, and that their parent has an even bigger smile in their heart, knowing that they didn't have to worry about how this was going to be taken care of on Christmas Day," said Willis.
"It's always crunch time. The last few days are always crazy. We've had some really late nights this past year so our goal is to not be here until midnight every night this weekend but if that's what it takes, that's what we'll do," said Salvation Army Peninsula Advisory Board member & Christmas Committee Chair Amy Smith.
Volunteers, like 91-year-old Ellen Stewart, said they feel rewarded in providing Christmas cheer to those in need.
"It's a wonderful feeling you get once you see the parents. They have something to give their children," said Stewart. "There's nothing like the smile of a child on Christmas morning and we're happy that we were able to give. We just need a few more people to open up their pocket books, open their hearts, and help us out."
The Salvation Army is currently asking the public for financial donations to help them provide all 150 in need children with gifts for Christmas. If you'd like to donate, visit angels13.org.