Angel tree: Over 800 area children will receive Christmas gifts thanks to Salvation Army
FORT WALTON BEACH — Natasha Casner couldn't hold back a tear as she spoke of what the Salvation Army Angel Tree program means to her in 2021.
"This year was one of those years I had to actually ask for help," the Freeport resident said. "I'm so glad to have this opportunity so the kids don't see the struggles we've been through. It means a lot."
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Casner's children will be among more than 800 in Northwest Florida this year who will receive Christmas offerings of toys, clothes, bikes, even beds through the Salvation Army of Okaloosa and Walton Counties which worked with Catholic Charities to revive a tradition of fulfilling wishes appearing on lists hung from Angel Trees scattered around the community.
"Our donors in this community have gone way over and above what anyone can imagine," said Salvation Army Lt. James Milner.
Smiling volunteers spent the morning Thursday helping grateful parents tote plastic bags stuffed with presents to their cars, and even supplied wrapping paper to allow for gifts to find their way under trees in homes across the region.
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For some of the volunteers, the chance to help distribute presents through the Angel Tree program held the special significance of paying forward a past kindness.
"I was a mom with three kids who at one time participated, so my children had angels," Wanda Marti said. "I feel like this is a good time to give back. I was excited to find this."
One of Marti's children, now grown, was also among the many volunteers working Thursday.
In recent years, the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities had been buying presents and having those in need of donations come in and look for something that might make a child smile, but this year the organizations returned to the tradition of filling wish lists, said restaurant owner Tom Rice, the chairman of the Salvation Army's Community Advisory Board.
The gift-giving got underway at 9 a.m., and by 9:30, a line stretched from the door of the Salvation Army's Mary Esther Cut-Off headquarters past the end of the building the agency occupies.
"It means a lot for my kids," said Crestview resident Brandee Beachamp. "As a single mom struggling to make ends meet, getting a little help means a lot to me and my family."
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Salvation Army Angel Tree program benefits 800 kids this Christmas
