SOUTHERN INDIANA — There’s still around 700 kids participating in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program that need to be adopted before the donation window closes next month.

Angel Tree is the charity’s annual program that makes sure kids in need get Christmas presents. The last day to purchase the gifts is Dec. 10.

“We need people to adopt Angels from Green Tree Mall, from SANewAlbany.org or from our office (in New Albany)” said Salvation Army Captain Catherine Fitzgerald. “When I checked (Monday night) we had about 700 more to be adopted.”

The Salvation Army’s New Albany branch supports families in six Southern Indiana counties, including Clark and Floyd.

“We just want people to know, now is the time,” Fitzgerald said. “People ask us, they’ll say, ‘When are the tags coming out?’ Now is the time to get your angels.”

Several people dropped off donations and picked up tags at Green Tree Mall on Tuesday.

Beth Walker and Dot Scott, volunteers with New Albany-based Retired Senior Volunteer Program, said there’s still a variety of children to choose from for those interested in donating.

The pair were manning the Salvation Army table in Green Tree Mall’s center court Tuesday.

“We had people come who specifically wanted to adopt older kids,” Walker said, adding that often older kids don’t get picked as much as younger children and babies.

Scott said often girls and younger children are chosen, but encourages anyone who’s interested to come by and choose an Angel to shop for.

“They can choose the age and the sex (of the child),” Scott said. “And they take the card with them and it shows them what the kid would like to have.”

The tags for Angel Tree list things that children need, along with other gift items families request. The tags get specific with sizing and families request everything from new winter jackets to bed sheets.

Those who’d like to participate still have a few days to adopt an Angel and go shopping, but donations need to be squared away by next weekend.

“They can drop (donations) off at our office between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Dec. 8,” Fitzgerald said. “Or they can drop them at the mall any hours it’s open.”

Donations will be taken at Green Tree Mall until Dec. 10.

Fitzgerald said it’s been typical to still have a few hundred Angels that need to be adopted with just a few days left, but it’s something new since the pandemic.

“The last three years have been a little harder,” she said. “Before COVID I didn’t feel like we had this problem. A few years after COVID, this is about normal.”

There’s a total of 3,130 Angels participating in the program in Southern Indiana this holiday season.

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