ROGERS, Ark. — The Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas and Fort Smith says there are missing angels from their Angel Tree program.
Luckily, there’s still time to turn in gifts.
Volunteers with the Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas are busy sorting through boxes and bags of gifts for this year’s Angel Tree program.
The organization had about 400 more kids this year due in large part because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Typically, we’re close to about 1,800 or so kids, and right now, we’re at 2,180. Plus, we have some emergency cases and families," Ashley Robinette, Salvation Army NWA area Commander, said.
More than 50% of angels are still missing.
The salvation army will have to shop for those kids if the forgotten angels are not returned.
“If you forgot or missed it or just didn’t know when the deadline was, you can still turn in gifts. We’ll have the boxes out at all the Walmart supercenters close to the service center, and you can still drop off your gifts in those locations. The boxes will be there through the weekend," Robinette said.
Empty boxes at the Salvation Army of Fort Smith show that it has about 75 angels missing.
“We’re really hoping if there are any angels out there, please bring them in by Thursday (Dec.10th) afternoon so we can go ahead and process them and get them taken care of," Captain Staci Gainey, Salvation Army Fort Smith, said.
For the community, the angel tree program is a great way to give back to families in need.
“This year, we see that there are more families in need than ever before. There’s just a lot of people that are unsure of what’s happening with their life. So many things are just chaotic that we’ve had more people come to us for assistance this year," Robinette said.
You can help make Christmas morning special because every child deserves to experience the joy of the holiday.
If you took an angel off one of the angel trees in Northwest Arkansas or the River Valley, there’s still time to bring in your gifts.
Drop off location in Fort Smith is at 301 N. 6th Street.
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