Columbia County citizens will have the opportunity to help make this holiday happier for children in need starting Monday, November 23, by adopting angels or donating to the Angel Tree at Southern Arkansas University.
The Angel Tree is located at SAU’s Reynolds Center room 218, and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. It will reopen during work hours on November 30. Visitors to campus for the Celebration of Lights on December 3 will also be able to take a moment to sponsor angels in Reynolds 218. For more information, call 870-235-4047.
Gifts are due back by December 11, and angel sponsors are suggested to spend between $50-$70 for each angel child. For those who cannot afford to sponsor an angel, any children’s gift or money contribution will be appreciated. Donations can be mailed to 100 East University, MSC 9431. Checks should be made out to SAU, with “Angel Tree” in the memo line.
Last year’s Angel Tree at SAU and all the contributors brightened the holidays for 146 families and more than 500 children. A sponsor from more than 750 miles away last year, Felicia Gatson-Johnson, helped save the holiday with a $1,000 gift to help fund some of the remaining angels after local efforts were exhausted and national media publicized the need.
The Angel Tree serves children in need from infancy through high school seniors by providing sponsors with information about each child’s age, gender, sizes and gift requests. It also serves as an economic engine to the local economy. Even conservative estimates suggest that sponsors donate more than $40,000 in clothing, toys and electronics every year.
Since 2008, the Angel Tree has been at SAU. From 2008-2013, it was co-coordinated by two student organizations – Lambda Alpha Beta (the Chemistry Club) and Sigma Tau Delta (the English Honor Society). For the past two years, it has been headed up by University Housing at SAU. For several years prior to 2008, the Magnolia Housing Authority coordinated the county’s Angel Tree efforts.
