Angel Giving Tree goes up November 22
Angel Giving Tree scheduled to go up November 22
LA CROSSE – With rent, groceries, and other bills to worry about, Christmas presents can sometimes become an afterthought for families with limited resources.
To help provide hundreds of children in those families with gifts, the Salvation Army of La Crosse will once again light up the Angel Giving Tree in the lead up to Christmas. The tree will be set up on Tuesday, November 22nd near Zales in Valley View Mall. Volunteers and Salvation Army staff will be on hand to set up and decorate the tree before opening it to the public.
The purpose of the Angel Giving Tree is to provide each child with a brand new outfit and pair of shoes that they might not get otherwise. To do this, each child is paired with a ‘sponsor’. The tree is decorated with tags that display a child’s basic information, their clothing and shoe sizes, things they like, and any special needs or requests they may have. Once the tree is up, all tags are made available to the public. People can become sponsors by taking a tag, purchasing a gift, and dropping it off at the tree or at the Salvation Army of La Crosse (223 N. 8th Street). Each child featured on the Angel Giving Tree lives in La Crosse County.
The Angel Giving Tree will stay up until all of the tags are taken. 444 families were recipients of the program in 2015.
Gifts that are purchased are asked to be returned to the tree or brought to the Salvation Army of La Crosse by December 5th. Presents will be distributed on December 15th at the National Guard Armory in Onalaska (910 Oak Forest Drive). Sponsors are also asked to provide gift receipts in case the clothing or shoes they purchase do not fit.
For more information on the Angel Giving Tree, contact the Salvation Army of La Crosse at (608)782-6126 or visit www.SalvationArmyLaCrosse.org.