Angel Tree Ligonier, 2019

October 3, 2019

Ligonier’s Angel Tree program (also known as Treasures for Children) is one of our community’s most popular holiday programs. Organized and overseen by The Salvation Army, Angel Tree provides local families in financial distress with quality, new, age appropriate gifts to be opened for the holiday season.

Participating members of the community are given tags with a child’s age, gender, and toy preferences, and they are asked to purchase a gift for that child. Those gifts are collected together and given to families before the Christmas holiday, to be wrapped and placed under the tree for children to open on Christmas morning. Every child in our community should have a merry Christmas, and the Angel Tree program ensures that will happen.

In Ligonier, the program is also paired with The Salvation Army’s Operation Santa Clause food pickup program, which provides a Christmas dinner and food vouchers to families experiencing food insecurity.

New this year in 2019, Epiphany Church in Ligonier is partnering with the Salvation Army to provide a web site space for all Angel Tree Program information. Below, you’ll find important sign up information, dates, contact information, FAQ’s, and more.

I’d Like To Receive Help

If you think you’ll need help this holiday season with Angel Tree gifts or a holiday dinner through Operation Santa Clause, the community of Ligonier is here to help! The Salvation Army oversees registration for families in need. Stop in to their office at the Waterford Christian Church, 856 Nature Run Rd, on Mondays or Wednesdays between the hours of 10am and 12pm. Volunteers will be on hand to collect your information and see if your needs and the program’s qualifications match. The deadline to sign up for the program is Wednesday, November 6. We plan to have toys and meals collected and ready for distribution at Waterford Christian Church on Saturday, December 14.

I’d Like to Give, or I’d Like A Tag

If your business, church, or community organization would like to participate in our Angel Tree program by receiving tags to purchase gifts, we’d love to have you! Grace Cairns is the volunteer coordinator for distributing tags. Give her a call at (724) 689-5934 and let her know how many tags your group would like. Tags will be distributed November 7 and 8. Volunteers will be collecting toys from organizations starting Sunday, December 1. We would ask that shoppers with tags plan to spend between $15 to $20 on a new toy or clothing item as indicated on the tag.

If you would like to give in another capacity – if you represent a knitting group, if your church has a hat and glove tree, if you’re looking to donate toys from another toy drive, or if you’d like to make a financial contribution to the program to ensure its future success, please contact Grace Cairns at (724) 689-5934 for more information.

Important Dates

November 6, 10:00 a.m. – the deadline to register to receive gifts from The Angel Tree program.
November 7 and 8 – tags will be distributed to local businesses, churches, and community organizations.
Dec 1 – tags and gifts will be collected from the community. Volunteers will begin meeting to organize and sort the collected gifts.
December 14- Angel Tree Gifts,
- Last name A-L, pickup between 9am and 11am
- Last name M-Z, pickup between 11am and 1pm

FAQ’s

Who is eligible to receive Angel Tree gifts for their children? Who is eligible to receive a Christmas dinner through Operation Santa Clause? What are the requirements?

The Angel Tree program is designed for children aged 12 and under whose families are in financial hardship (as defined by The Salvation Army). Operation Santa Clause is open to anyone in financial hardship that registers with The Salvation Army. These programs are specifically for families in the Ligonier Valley. If you are not a resident of the Ligonier Valley, contact the Western PA Salvation Army at (800) 454-1156 to find the program serving your community.

How many children apply for the program?

Depending on the year, we will supply gifts for between 80 and 120 children. Christmas dinners will also be supplied to around 120 families.

I just discovered this program, but I missed the deadline! Can I still participate?

For organizations that want to purchase Angel Tree gifts and families that want to receive them, we will do our best to accommodate you after the deadline! If you’re looking to receive gifts, contact the local Salvation Army Office ASAP for more information. Their phone number is (412) 916-2961 We may not be able to accommodate personal gift requests after our November 6 deadline, but we will do everything we can to ensure your kiddos have age appropriate Christmas presents.

Who is Epiphany Church and what is their relationship to Angel Tree?

Angel Tree has been a community program for a number of years. It is overseen by the Salvation Army and their volunteers. To ensure the program runs smoothly, Epiphany Church in Ligonier offered to assist the program with a webpage that was social media friendly and easy to access.