Salvation Army Angel Tree fulfills Christmas wishes for more than 1,000 local children
Dec. 21—TUPELO — A line of cars snaked around the Tupelo Furniture Market parking lot Tuesday morning as parents and children waited to pick up Christmas gifts collected as part of the Salvation Army's annual Angel Tree event.
More than 1,000 children received gifts that included outfits and toys ranging from stuffed animals to bicycles. Rows of boxes lined the floors of Furniture Market Building V with hundreds of bicycles sitting alongside them. Using a number system for pickup, items were carted to the parking lot by an army of about 250 volunteers of all ages.
There were originally about 900 angels on the tree this year from Lee, Union, Prentiss and the northern part of Monroe counties. But when United Furniture laid off nearly their entire workforce Nov. 22, the Salvation Army decided to reopen registration for the affected families, resulting in more than 100 new angels being added to the tree.
"The Angel Tree itself is an emergency assistance program for Christmas toys, and that was exactly what this program is designed for — to help people who didn't know they were going to need the help," Tupelo Salvation Army Capt. Heather Dolby said.
The community immediately responded to the Salvation Army's pleas for help fulfilling Christmas wishes by donating online, bringing checks by the Salvation Army and dropping off toys.
Not only were United Furniture families added to the angel tree, but local businesses also stepped up to provide them with gift cards in addition to the toys and clothes distributed Tuesday. Some were handed out during the event, and others will be mailed to families.
Lisa Murphree, president of the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary, has been involved with the Angel Tree event since 2004 and said it's one of the Salvation Army's biggest outreach projects, alongside the Empty Bowls luncheon held each spring.
"I think there's a lot of hurting people out there that are trying their best and they just don't have the money to provide Christmas for their children," Murphree said. "For children, that's a huge deal. So we reach out in order to help those parents. For me, personally, it's providing a need that I feel like Jesus calls me to do. I feel like I'm being the hands and feet."
Dolby said she'd like to share her sincere thanks for the generosity of the Tupelo community anytime their help is requested.
"Not being from Mississippi, I am always amazed and astonished at the real Tupelo spirit of people authentically caring for their neighbor," Dolby said. "If you're from here, you might not know. But let me say, it doesn't happen like that everywhere."
