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Salvation Army to kick off Angel Tree program giving gifts to Arkansas children in need

The Salvation Army is hoping the Angel Tree program will help 3,000 central Arkansas families.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Another familiar sight this time of year is Salvation Army trees.

The pandemic has forced the organization to make changes but those changes are ways to make it easier for people to give.

It's that time of the year when thousands of Arkansans head to the stores for an early start to some holiday shopping.

This weekend, the early birds will notice the return of a Christmas tradition.

"Starting today, we have our angels, our paper angels, they are out at the malls," Major Bill Mockabee with the Salvation Army said.

Christmas trees through central Arkansas malls will be decorated from top to bottom with the names of children who are hopeful for a gift next month.

"We've inputted all their information into our system and it prints off Angel Tree tags that we put up around central Arkansas," Major Bill Mockabee said.

For a lot of families, making Christmas magic happen isn't so easy.

"The holidays bring anxiety with having to pay them and barely being able to get by and pay the bills," Mockabee said.

He said that is something that was especially true last Christmas.

"Because of the job losses, because of all that was going on, the need was even greater," Mockabee said.

With the safety of their donors at the top of the list, he said the organization pivoted to an online process last year. 

It's a change that will stick around for quite some time. 

"We have a way that you can now adopt angels online. And of course, shop online and have those gifts sent directly to us so you don't have to go out," Mockabee said. 

Even as the Christmas spirit was nearly stolen by a mean-spirited Grinch known as the Coronavirus, they were able to give about 35,000 gifts last year to children.

Mockabee hopes to give even more this holiday season.

"To see people out of the goodness of their hearts coming alongside those who are struggling and who are less fortunate. That's just what community is all about," Mockabee said.

You can adopt an angel until December 6th.

The need for bell-ringers is critical this year.

You can sign up to join the Red Kettle campaign or donate to the angel tree program here.

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