Angel Tree Service Project

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A History of the Project

The troop has had a Christmas party since its founding back in 1975. Like most troops we included a gift exchange. Scouts could spend up to $5.00 and bring a wrapped gift and there were numbers assigned. By the mid 1990’s we were looking at ways to reach out to the community rather than swap another generation of flashlights and mess kits among ourselves. One year we bought gifts for a nursing home. But that didn’t seem like we were doing enough. We wanted to give our kids an opportunity to participate in a personal way that would have an impact on both our Scouts and the other youth they were helping.

In 1999 we partnered with the Salvation Army. They would put up their Angel Trees or Giving Trees in the mall for people to come and purchase a gift for a less fortunate child. What we found out was there were many families that were left out of this. They would sign up too late or they had children older than 12 who did not qualify. Back in those days Delphi-Packard and other large employers were Salvation Army partners and would actually have their own tree and take a significant number of kids. Even with all that support there were still plenty of families that were left out. So that year, this became our Christmas project. Instead of buying for each other, we started helping those who needed it most.

There were very specific rules back then: two outfits and two toys per child, for example. Our families bought the gifts, wrapped and sorted them, and much like today, the Scouts put on their uniforms and went to these houses and delivered the gifts on the Saturday morning before Christmas. Over the years we have seen very touching stories. People would recognize a name of someone they knew or a student in their class, so they would take that gift with no mention to the recipient. Sometimes some of our own families fell on hard times and there has been a “Secret Santa” underground project where we would quietly provide some help for them.

The Salvation Army has seen many changes as well. We recall when they went from two outfits to one. Today they say if you can just buy one toy or one gift for a child that will help. We continue to buy an outfit and a couple of toys for each child. We tried adding stockings, but that didn’t work very well. So a number of years ago we were joined by Girl Scout Troop 598 who decorated a bucket for each child. We now include that every year. Back when Eagle’s Wings sold cookie trays, they also donated a tray to each family.

Some of the families we have contacted over the years say they used to buy a gift every year from the tree at the mall. Now they need to sign up to receive some help.

We have always adopted 4-6 families and anywhere from 10-14 kids since starting this in 1999. So you do the math. It is a special time of year and this seems like the perfect way to celebrate it. And if all the angels disappear at the end of the evening, we can always get a couple more. It seems there are always more kids out there who could use a little help.

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