“Every child should have a gift to open on Christmas morning,” said Linda Morris, guidance office registrar, who along with Whitney Gray, Hamilton Heights High School assistant principal, spoke on Hamilton Heights School Corporation’s long-standing Angel Tree Program at a recent meeting of the Cicero Kiwanis Club.
The local club has been a supporter of the program for many years, allocating funds to support the corporation’s efforts to help make Christmas brighter for district children who could face a bleak holiday season because of hardships experienced by their parents or grandparents. Morris has been spearheading the Angel Tree program at the middle school for more than a decade, and Gray, in charge of the high school’s program since 2012. Together they work closely with Angel Tree program coordinators at the elementary and primary schools.
The program, started many years before Morris joined the middle school staff in 2006, was designed to ensure children in need would have new toys and clothing at Christmas.
“Any family can fall upon hard times, have a lean year for any number of reasons, and/or experience circumstances that greatly impact their financial situation,” said Morris. “The Angel Tree helps ensure there will be gifts to open on Christmas morning for all the children in the house.”
Families who could benefit through the Angel Tree program are initially identified by school counselors. Letters are sent to these families to see if they are interested. If so, they complete a form with the names, ages, gender and interests of children under 18 in the household.
Each school building sets up at least one tree (after Thanksgiving break through Dec. 6). Holiday themed-shaped tags identifying participating families by number only with age, gender and interests of children within the household are placed on the tree. Members of the Heights community (consisting of parents, staff and members of local organizations) either make a monetary donation or take a tag and shop for specific items based on information on the tap and return items purchased to the building program coordinator.
Morris takes any donations and any remaining tags and spends a day shopping for these families. Last year she purchased 80 gifts. She takes all gifts received, organizes, wraps and takes all wrapped presents to the Santa’s Workshop at the middle school where families come in at specific date and time to pick up their gifts.
“This week a member of our community called to ask me to pick up 25 gift tags from our Angel Tree so she and her friends could shop,” Morris said. “She has done this for several years. I also have fellow staff members who adopt and shop for entire families. These touching examples can be found throughout each building on this mostly ‘word-of-mouth’ program. We are so lucky to live in a community with so many people who care so much.”
“Heights’ Angel Tree program provides an excellent opportunity for those to help bring a smile to the faces to children in need during the holiday season,” said Whitney Gray, who works closely with Morris. “This giving opportunity doesn’t require a significant commitment of money or time, but the end result is truly priceless.”
Morris refers to this as a labor of love that really brings out the Christmas spirit in everyone involved. “I hear a lot of stories from families when they pick up their gifts and know how grateful they are for this program,” added Morris. “It really makes a difference at this special time of year. Just as heartwarming are the people who help make this program successful and worthwhile.”