UPDATE
Good news - The Salvation Army of Roanoke says it received all of the toys needed for every single Angel this year.
Tesa Price with the Salvation Army sent us this statement that says:
“We cannot possibly express just how grateful we are for our community!! Over the weekend we received an abundance of gifts to allow us to shop in house for those 215 unreturned Angels as well as the children who reside in our Turning Point domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking shelter and enable us to get a head start on stocking our Toy Shop for Angel Tree 2024, as we anticipate an even greater need next Christmas.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting our Angel Tree program. Without you, we couldn’t support children in need throughout the Roanoke Valley in the magnitude that we do!
Merry Christmas to each and every one of you!!”
For more on the exciting update, click here.
ORIGINAL STORY
The Roanoke Salvation Army is sending out an emergency request for holiday help for their Angel Tree program. While all 1,200 of their angels were adopted, 215 angels have not been returned. The Salvation Army prepares for this each year by stocking a toy shop, however, Tesa Price said their toy shop’s supply is quickly depleting due to the high number of unreturned angels.
“In all my years of doing Angel Tree, I have never seen this high of a number not be returned. Granted, we put out a larger amount of Angels this year, and we understand that times are tough and things come up, but this is definitely the largest nonreturn of angels I have ever seen,” Price said.
Distribution day is Dec. 20, so they are in dire need of toy donations now.
“Things happen. Sometimes people will go get an angel right off the tree the very first day they go live with them, and life gets away from you,” Price said. “Sometimes they wait until the last minute because that’s all they are able to do.”
The Roanoke Salvation Army is asking the public to donate new, unwrapped toys to help them meet their last-minute need.
“When people go out to the stores and purchase brand new toys and donate them to us, it allows us to shop our toy room and fill those bags,” Price said.
Toy donations can be dropped off at the Roanoke location on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday between 8:30 a.m. and noon, and then again between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
They are in dire need of toys (non-clothing items) for girls aged birth-12 years old and boys aged birth-3 years old and 9-12 years.
The Salvation Army Roanoke is located at 724 Dale Ave SE.
To make a donation or other arrangements, contact Tesa Price at (540) 988-3164.