ROANOKE, Va. – Each year thousands of families are forced to choose between making ends meet or giving Christmas presents to their children. That’s why 10 News partnered with the Salvation Army again this year.
In addition to covering their Angel Tree program, staff at WSLS 10 decided to adopt 15 angels too.
As thousands of you grabbed an angel off a tree this year, we were adopting angels too, hoping to help our neighbors in need.
“No matter what was going on with finances at home or their parents, I wanted those kids to be able to experience the same thing that I got to experience as a kid,” 10 News Reporter Abbie Coleman said.
The Angel Tree program has now become a beloved tradition for us. One that reporter Abbie Coleman shared with her family.
“Oh my gosh, it was so exciting! I brought my mom and my sister. My mom hasn’t gotten to shop for a little girl since I was little and so she had so much fun picking out the clothes for me. We just went to the doll aisle at Target and had so much fun finding things that I enjoyed as a little kid that I know my angel would love too.”
Reporter Keshia Lynn’s angel was a 7-year-old girl.
“It made me feel really good ya know just to go out and shop and to look at the kids’ toys. It made me feel so good to give back and I found an amazing coat too so it just melted my heart.”
The most exciting part was when the shopping was done. and our angels’ presents were under the station tree
“It was amazing seeing how many people contributed. I think so many people in this station chipped in whether it was one item or a bunch of items. It was really cool to see just how big the impact was because you could physically see how many people this was going to touch.”
While the need may be great, the need to give back is greater.