The Sweet Story Behind the Angel Tree—And How to Participate This Year
The holiday season is often called the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be a hard season for many people without the resources to celebrate or buy gifts. In 1979, one Virginia couple set out to find a way to help community members who were in a season of struggle, and the angel tree tradition was born.
In the winter of 1979, Majors Charles and Shirley White were stationed by the army in Lynchburg, Virginia. They knew several local families were struggling, so they asked the Salvation Army and the local River Ridge shopping mall to help them provide clothes and toys for children in the community who likely wouldn't get any that year.
Courtesy of The Salvation Army
Related: The Best Ways to Donate and Volunteer This Season
They set up a large Christmas tree at the mall and wrote down each child's name and their needed items on a Hallmark card (many of the cards were decorated with angels, which led to the term 'angel tree'). Mall shoppers would pick a card off the tree and purchase the items while they were out doing their own Christmas shopping. That year, 472 children received items from the program coordinated by the Whites.
When the Whites were transferred to Nashville a few years later, they started a program there too. As word started traveling about the impact of the program, angel trees began popping up all around the country. Today, you'll find angel trees at hundreds of Salvation Army locations, local businesses, and shopping malls all over the United States.
Related: 37 Christmas Gifts That Help Do Good
To find out where angel trees are in your area, or to set up your own tree at your place of business, check out this guide.
