Glenview Ice Center Collects 225 Gifts for Underprivileged 'Angels'

Submitted by the Glenview Park District

The Glenview Ice Center collected the largest donation of gifts ever last month during its annual Salvation Army Angel Tree gift drive. The ice center received more than 220 donated holiday gifts for underprivileged children this holiday season. It is the largest collection in the program’s eleven-year history at the ice center.

The Angel Tree was located at the Glenview Ice Center lobby from December 1-19. Residents visiting the center could pick an Angel Tree Tag from the tree that detailed the gender, age, and holiday gift wish list for a child. They would purchase gifts on the list and return them unwrapped to the ice center. Moves & Freestyle Coordinator & Angel Tree Coordinator for the Glenview Ice Center, Kathy Brickman said that the ice center staff was thrilled by the Angel Tree Program’s response this year.

“The Angel Tree program is truly a special part of the holiday season at the Ice Center,” said Brickman. “Our team has been devoted to participating for the past eleven years. It really warms your heart when you see parents and children picking out the tags from the tree. To see the smiles on so many faces and knowing that you are adopting children who are less fortunate and providing them with personalized gifts and necessities truly says it all.”

The Angel Tree program is one of The Salvation Army’s highest profile Christmas efforts, alongside the well-known Red Kettles that frequent store fronts. Created in 1979 by Major Charles and Shirley White, the program was born while the two worked with a Lynchburg, Va. Shopping mall to provide clothing and toys for children at Christmastime. Children wrote their gift needs on Hallmark greeting cards that featured pictures of angels, hence the name Angel Tree program. Charles and White then placed the cards on a Christmas tree at the mall to allow shoppers to select children to help.

The Angel Tree program is unique because it matches sponsors with specific children. The Salvation Army identifies families in need each year, and each sponsor purchases gifts for their specific children with information about their age and gender. Each child’s wish list is as diverse as the children themselves, and goes directly to the child named on the sponsor’s Angel.

Each child that had a tag on the tree will receive a gift, no matter what. Even in instances when not all the tags are taken, the Salvation Army will split up the donations, so that every child will have a present to unwrap on Christmas morning.

The Angel Tree program is a part of the Glenview Ice Center’s 14th Annual Winter Carnival event that took place from December 19, 2014 through January 4.