By GINA KINSLOW
GLASGOW — Demetris Fields and her coworkers at Green Mechanical chipped in last year to help the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.
Instead of selecting paper angels, which feature the first names of area children, their basic needs and their Christmas wishes, from Christmas trees at local businesses, Fields and coworkers Connie Stilts and Rita Smith decided to shop for those whose paper angels were not selected.
The employees plan to do the same thing this year, but due to some cut backs and lay-offs the employees have had to host their own fundraiser for the program.
“We had a yard sale this year,” Fields said.
Fields, Stilts and Smith were joined by coworker Beth Gentry in hosting the yard sale, which generated more than $700 during the 400-mile yard sale to benefit the Christmas Angel program.
“We try to get something other than what’s on their list. We try to get them something fun. We try to get their necessities and get them something kids want,” Fields said.
Shopping for the kids makes her feel “wonderful,” she said. “It’s fun to shop for them even though we don’t see them and we don’t know who they are. We just dig in there like they are ours.”
Other monies used to buy gifts for children whose paper angels were not selected come from money deposited in the Salvation Army’s red kettles.
The staff at the Barren County Family YMCA has traditionally adopted an angel from a tree in the YMCA’s lobby each year, and Brian Held, director, said he thinks the staff will do it again this year.
Buying gifts for children in need “is a great feeling,” he said. “I guess that’s what Christmas is all about — giving and it’s even better when you’re helping them enjoy a Christmas they might not be able to have otherwise.”
The Glasgow Kiwanis Club has been buying Christmas gifts for area children for 40 years.
“Each year we try to take over 50 kids shopping,” said Jeff Edwards, past president of the club.
Area school resource centers refer the names of children who are in need at Christmas time to the club. Once the club has the names it runs them past Sue Haynes, director for the local Salvation Army, to make sure there are no duplications with the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. The club tries to take 25 children who attend the Glasgow Independent School District and 25 children who attend the Barren County School System shopping each year.
Club members sometimes share stories with each other about the experience, some of which are very heart-warming, he said.
“You feel like you are making a difference,” Edwards said.
The Salvation Army is partnering with the US Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots Program to help needy children have a great Christmas.
Tom Harris with US Marine Corps Reserves, Detachment 1095, which serves a 10-county area in south central Kentucky, said Haynes helps the Marine Corps Reserves identify children in need in Barren County.
“She is very good at identifying the needy folks in that county,” he said. “Our goal is to give each child two toys. We try to give them one nice toy, say a $20 toy and then a lesser toy, about a $10 toy.”
The Angel Tree program is for children ranging in age from newborn to 15. Resource centers at area schools, local churches and the local office of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Families all refer the names of children to the Salvation Army for the program.
Haynes said she is seeing an increase in the number of children referred to the program.
“We have not got the count, but there’s lot of files that don’t have tabs on them and anything that doesn’t have a tab, we know it’s someone who hasn’t been here before,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of people we’ve never heard of.”
Of all the things that are on the children’s list, Haynes said to her the more important items are the clothes.
She realizes that some people may not be able to buy everything that is on a child’s list.
“If you can’t get everything on the list, you can go together with a co-worker, neighbor, friend or relative and do an angel that way,” she said.
Angel trees can be found at the following locations: Bluegrass Cellular, Kmart, Walmart, Barren County Family YMCA, Gillie Hyde, Donnelleys, First Christian Church, Freewill Baptist Church, Dairy Queen, St. Helen’s Catholic Church, and Akebono.
The deadline to drop off gifts is Dec. 11. Gifts should not be wrapped. Gifts may be dropped off at any of the above locations, Advance America or at the Salvation Army office at 123 E. Washington St.
The Salvation Army is also offering an online Angel Tree program this year. For more information about the online program visit www.salvationarmyusa.org For more information about the local Angel Tree program call the Salvation Army at 651-9006.
