Salvation Army provides Christmas gifts, food for families
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ELKINS -- The Salvation Army helped make the holidays a little more cheerful for a host of families on Wednesday during a distribution event in which the organization distributes gifts and food items.
Each year the Salvation Army provides assistance to the less fortunate by conducting several initiatives during Christmas, including its Angel Tree Program that concluded when volunteers distributed gifts during the event at the Tygart Valley Mall.
Not only were parents provided with Christmas presents for their children, but the Salvation Army also distributed complete meals for Christmas Day to those who qualified. The dinners included a $20 gift card for meat, along with a host of perishable food items that included canned goods, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and more.
"We only had one family that was on our list who didn't show up," said Salvation Army Major Tonya Roberts. "We handed out gifts for 150 children and 72 families who were on our list. Everyone was happy and it was really exciting to be able to help so many people this year."
The office space next to the Salvation Army facility in the Elkins was filled with bicycles, toy cars and trucks, dolls, doll houses, and many other things a child could wish for at Christmas.
Trees for the Angel Tree Program, which is for infants to 12-year old children, were set up in November at the Elkins Walmart, Bealls Outlet and Pizza Hut. Patrons visiting those locations picked an angel off the tree and purchased toys and gifts for local children.
The local Salvation Army's headquarters are in Clarksburg. Eight counties are part of the Angel Tree Program. The organization distributed gifts for children in Clarksburg on Thursday, and visited Upshur County for its final distribution on Friday. In all, the organization helped 2,000 children and 987 families this Christmas with the program.
"We really start working on the Angel Tree Program in the summer when we start finding volunteers to help with the campaign," Roberts said. "We started accepting applications for the program in October and then put the trees out at the beginning of November."
Another major campaign by the Salvation Army each Christmas to help with food distribution and utility assistance throughout the year involves the red kettles that it sets up at select locations. This year's spot in Elkins is at the Walmart Store on the Beverly Five-Lane, where volunteers are still needed to ring the bells.
The kettles will be set up on Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 23. Those interested in volunteering are asked to call 304-637-1173 or 304-622-2360 (extension 7).
"We still really need bell ringers in Elkins," Roberts said. "We need them all the way up until a couple days before Christmas."