Salvation Army kicks off five-day Angel Tree distribution

Monday marks the first of five distribution days for The Salvation Army’s expansive Angel Tree program, which will serve around 5,000 children from across Central Indiana this Christmas.

Distribution week is split between two Salvation Army locations and will once again feature a drive-thru model. Introduced in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, system allows families picking up gifts to remain in their vehicles while volunteers in retrieve each Angel’s bag from inside and load them into the waiting vehicles.

The Salvation Army is also in the process of delivering hundreds of filled Angel Tree bags to agencies across Central Indiana. These agencies will then ensure the safe delivery of all gifts to families before Christmas.

– December 13, 14, & 17:

Location -The Salvation Army Fountain Square Corps Community Center, 1337 Shelby Street , Indianapolis IN 46203

Time – Angel Tree families arrive at scheduled appointment times between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

– December 15 & 16:

Location – The Salvation Army Eagle Creek Corps Community Center, 4400 N. High School Road, Indianapolis IN

Time – Angel Tree families arrive at scheduled appointment times between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Families must financially qualify for the Angel Tree program. Back in October, The Salvation Army sat down with parents to determine their child’s Christmas wishes and create a list of needs, like diapers, winter clothing, or shoes. Angels were then made available for “adoption” online by donors. Angel Tree tags hanging of special trees at local malls, select Walmart stores, and at the Indiana Historical Society’s Festival of Trees featured Angel tags with easily scanned QR codes to quickly connect donors with lists of Angels to adopt.

Many local companies, churches, and other organizations also gave back to the community by adopting large numbers of Angels. The top adopter for 2021 was MavPak, which adopted and shopped for 500 Angels. More than half of the Angels available this year were adopted by organizations excited for an opportunity to make Christmas special for local children in need.

All returned gifts from The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree donors have undergone extensive quality checks by volunteers and are now ready to go home and make Christmas special for 5,000 local children. Volunteers also helped to shop for “Forgotten Angels” whose bags were never returned. Thanks to cash donations to the Angel Tree program, toys donated by the Circle City Toy Run and Pacers, and books and clothing given by additional donors, every Angel will have gifts under the tree on Christmas morning.

It takes thousands of donors and volunteers to make Angel Tree possible. There is still time to sign up and volunteer. Just visit SalvationArmyIndiana.org/AngelTree for more information.

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army annually helps more than 23 million Americans overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of social services. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need, The Salvation Army is doing the most good at 7,600 centers of operations around the country. In the first-ever listing of “America’s Favorite Charities” by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Salvation Army ranked as the country’s largest privately funded, direct-service nonprofit. For more information, visit SalvationArmyUSA.org. Follow us on Twitter @SAIndiana and #HopeMarchesOn