Community Corner

Angel Tree Project Needs Your Help

More than 1,100 gifts have been requested through Council Rock's Angel Tree Project, which helps families in need during the holidays.

 

Your holiday gift-giving list probably includes children, relatives and friends.

But consider adding just one more gift to that list. It could make a big difference to a local family in need.

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The Angel Tree Project, coordinated by Council Rock School District nurses and volunteer Paul Salvatore, has begun and needs your help.

The project helps to grant holiday wishes for Council Rock School District families in need. The wishes of local children and their families are placed on a tag that looks like an angel. Those tags are hung on Christmas trees, which are located at the and the Northampton Library.

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Anyone willing to help out can pick up a tag and purchase the requested item or items. The families are not identified by name for the purposes of confidentiality. There’s a number on the tag that identifies the recipient.

According to Salvatore, more than 1,100 gifts have been requested. “This year, we have more families than we’ve had for many years,” he said, adding the increased need is likely due to the poor economy.

The requests aren’t just for toys, Salvatore noted. Families are given a list as to what they can choose from so there are no extravagant requests.

“A lot of it is just the basics – hats, scarves, underwear, socks,” Salvatore said.

Families involved in the program are selected based on their participation in the school lunch program, Salvatore explained.

Gifts, which should be wrapped and include the original tag, can be returned back to the location where the tag was selected. Salvatore said the gifts should be returned by Dec. 17.

On Dec. 18, the youth group at the Newtown Presbyterian Church will organize the gifts and prepare them for pick up by the families.

For more information or to participate, stop by one of the two Angel Tree Project locations – the Newtown Post Office and the Northampton Library.


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