The Center for Community and Civic Engagement and Student Senate at Elizabethtown College will be hosting the Angel Tree Project once again this year. In a typical year, there would be a table set up with a small tree and tags hanging from the branches, each describing the age, gender, needs and interests of an individual. A person would then pick a tag, then buy  gifts fitting the description and take it to a drop off location. 

However, this year, COVID-19 impacted the way the tradition could be handled. According to Campus News, instead of having physical tags for students or staff to choose from, there is an online form to sign up for an Angel Tree. Instead of it only being for only children, it has been expanded to include the homeless to help more people. 

With all the technology available in 2020, whoever signed up for an Angel Tree can shop for the gifts online without leaving the safety of the campus. Between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16 or between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, gifts can be dropped off at the Senate office. There, according to Campus News, Student Senate will have gift wrapping, so the person who purchased the gifts does not have to worry about that aspect. 

Anyone can help with the Angel Tree project, even students who are remote this semester. Campus News stated, “Remote students wanting to participate, can mail a gift card to the Center for Community and Civic Engagement.”

According to the website of Dell & Schaefer, the Angel Tree Project was started in 1979 by the Salvation Army. It came to be called the Angel Tree because the founders, Charles White and his wife, Shirley, “identified the wishes of local children by writing their gift needs on Hallmark greeting cards that featured pictures of angels. They placed the cards on a Christmas tree at the mall to allow shoppers to select children to help.”

The second year the Angel Tree Project made national news and became a popular tradition around the United States. Dell & Schaefer stated, “The Angel Tree is a testament to the power of people coming together to help their neighbors in need.”

For more information on Etown’s Angel Tree Project, contact Sharon Sherick at shericks@etown.edu or 717-361-4765. For more information on the history of the project, visit https://www.diattorney.com/salvation-armys-angel-tree-program/.