Salvation Army asks community to help finish Angel Tree donations

JACKSON, Tenn. — With just a few days left before Christmas, the Salvation Army is still in high gear serving those in need in West Tennessee.

The red kettle outside malls and grocery stores is synonymous with Christmas, and these faithful ringers are working beyond the bell.

“We’re excited about it being a little colder because people are more in the Christmas spirit,” Major Jayne May with the Salvation Army said.

May said that right now they are dollar-to-dollar matching last year’s donations, but with two extra days before Christmas this year they are hoping to surpass their goal.

“So we are real positive and real excited that we are on target to reach our goal of $170,000 for the year,” she said. “But of course we always like to have more, because with more we can do more.”

Another familiar sight this time of year is the Angel Tree.

“Right now, our Angel Tree is doing very, very well,” May said. “As you can see, our tree is almost bare — we just have a few older children left on.”

May says she will be adding more angels to the tree this weekend that have already been adopted just to fill out their lists a little bit more.

“Some angels are forgotten or a little under served,” May said. “I try to give everybody three Christmas presents, and then if there is clothes, that’s extra and that’s wonderful, so if people can bring spare toys.”

While most angels have found a home this year, the Salvation Army just wants to remind everyone to bring back their Angel gifts.

“Last year, we had a record year in that all the angels were adopted,” May said. “But not every angel was returned, so we are hoping this year that will be the new record, that every angel is returned so that every child can get something personal.”

The Angel Tree will be accepting donations until Dec. 17, and the kettles will be out until Christmas Eve.