Chick-fil-A Tupelo collecting Christmas gifts for nursing home residents via Golden Angel Tree
Dec. 7—TUPELO — Days before the deadline, plenty of angels still dangle from the Golden Angel Tree at Chick-fil-A Tupelo.
Each December, the restaurant collects gifts for seniors in area nursing homes. With around 200 out of 450 angels still left on the tree, plenty of opportunities remain for Northeast Mississippi residents to spread Christmas cheer to individuals who are often overlooked or don't have family to care for them.
The drop-off deadline is Saturday, Dec. 10, in order to have the gifts distributed to area nursing homes in time for their Christmas parties.
Requests on the tags often include items like clothes, blankets, games, CDs/DVDs or snacks. They range between $30 and $50 total.
Donors are asked to drop gifts off in a bag rather than wrapping them because it makes transporting them easier, and it's important to remember to place the tag on the bag to ensure it gets to the right recipient.
The Golden Angel Tree was started in 1999 by Chick-fil-A Tupelo owner/operator Jamey Finley's wife, Trina. It started with one local nursing home and has grown to serve seven nursing homes in Tupelo, Baldwyn, Fulton, Amory and Okolona.
Finley believes the Golden Angel Tree is a cause everyone can unite around.
"It's a chance to remember them and to honor them and to show them that somebody cares about them," Finley said of the gifts' recipients.
Forty angels didn't get picked last year, and Finley expects that number to be higher this year.
Monetary donations are used to purchase gifts for the angels who aren't picked, so those who can't stop by Tupelo to pick an angel from the tree can still contribute by making a donation at thegoldenangeltree.com.
To pick up an angel from the tree, visit Chick-fil-A's Thompson Square location at 908 Barnes Crossing Road in Tupelo.
