BALTIMORE, Md. — The face of a child on Christmas morning.
The Salvation Army of Central Maryland provides thousands of children in the area with toys and clothing each year, but this year, the coordinator of its Angel Tree assistance program, Samantha Bowman, knows that will be a challenge.
“They’re going to be left behind, and that’s not good,” said Bowman, “Kids deserve to have Christmas.”
Last week, a major corporation, which had helped provide the toys and other resources for as many as a thousand families each year, pulled out of the program with no previous warning.
“It was kind of a shock, because the partnership we’ve had has been in existence for 20 years,” said Major Roger Glick, “The Salvation Army’s been doing the Angel Tree for about 43 years, and so it’s almost a full fifth of all of the angels we do from one partnership that we had that we thought was solid and that was good.”
Finding last-minute sponsors will now be difficult at a time when inflation is driving up the number of families, which needs help.
“I just heard on the news today that the average family in America needs an additional $459 a month compared to what they were spending last year,” said Glick.
The Salvation Army not only needs other corporations or businesses to step up, it also needs your help.
Individuals can become Angel Tree donors to give Christmas to a child by visiting www.angeltreemd.org.
You can also make a financial contribution at www.sa-md.org/donate where $100 can provide a child with three brand, new toys, a clothing outfit and a new coat.
“I’m not the Grinch. Most people aren’t the Grinch,” said Bowman, “Most people will step forward and help us provide Christmas for these children.”
