Angel Trees offer halo of hope this Christmas

With Christmas around the corner, it’s time to adopt some angels for the holiday.

The annual Salvation Army Angel Tree drive has begun and this year, 700 greater Lawton area kids have qualified to receive assistance, according to Lawton Corps Officer Major Raymond N. Pruitt.

Assistance is available for any child between the ages of 0 and 12 years old, whose family is eligible. Residents of Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson, Stephens and Tillman counties are eligible.

“The Salvation Army of Lawton has opened the 2023 adoption process,” he said. “Our community partners have joined forces with us in years past to meet the needs of our community. The Salvation Army is asking our friends to help us make Christmas brighter for local area kids.”

Kicking off last Saturday, Angel Trees located at two Walmart locations, 1002 N. Sheridan and 6301 Quanah Parker Trailway, as well as Fort Sill National Bank branches, 1420 W. Lee, 6212 Cache Road and at the PX on Fort Sill, offer members of the community and an opportunity to assist local children and families.

The trees, posted along the entry/exit foyer near each location’s entrance, has paper decorations hanging from its branches. The decorations provide a descriptive list of hopes to help a local child and family with needs and presents for Christmas. Often preceding a request for a toy are items such as diapers, clothes and other household staples.

Donors select angels, purchase gifts, and return them to the Angel Tree by the given deadline on each tag.

Upon their return, the gifts are taken to a Salvation Army Christmas Distribution Center to be picked up by the angel families the week before Christmas.

Online adoptions are also live at www.LawtonAngelTree.com.

Pruitt said the Salvation Army is poised to make an even bigger impact to members of the community over the past year.

“In 2022, The Salvation Army of Lawton assisted 1,800 of our neighbors at Christmas,” he said. “We have exceeded that number in 2023.”