HOLLAND, Mich. — The Salvation Army in Holland says the need for holiday assistance has surged this year, with its Angel Tree program serving nearly 200 more families than last year.
Salvation Army Capt. Matthew Winters said the program is reaching over a thousand families in West Michigan, an “unprecedented” number in his experience.
“We have over 1,070 families just in the south Ottawa and Allegan counties, and that's up almost 200 from last year,” Winters said. “That's over 2,600 kids who will receive toys from the Salvation Army this year."
The program collects toys and gifts for children through donations from community members, local businesses and schools. Winters said about 12,000 toys are expected to pass through the Salvation Army’s Holland facility this holiday season, thanks to the work of hundreds of volunteers.
“Holland, again, is wonderful in that if you say you need volunteers, they come out,” said Claudia Simpson, a volunteer and the Angel Tree program’s “head toy master.”
"We had West Ottawa High School volunteers come in from one of their programs. And it's fun to just watch the teens sort through toys," says Simpson.
For some donors, the tradition is deeply personal. Kelly Smyth of Jenison remembers participating in Angel Tree shopping trips with her mother nearly 40 years ago, a practice she now carries on with her four children.
“My own kids can testify, they always use their own money. They get first dibs on tags,” Smyth said. “We go shopping, and we always make a big thing of it because, how would you feel if you woke up on Christmas and didn’t have a gift?”
Smyth collects toys and donations from her own front porch, which the family then delivers to the distribution center.
"We'll see families come up on the porch and look at all the ages of kids and get excited about picking presents, and then they drop them off together. So, I feel like it kind of makes our neighborhood a little bit smaller, because it brings us together," said Smyth.
Over the last four years, she said her neighborhood has contributed more than 300 gifts.
“When you have an excess, you pay it forward,” Smyth said. “I think that you get what you give, and I want [my kids] to learn that and carry that with them as they grow up.”
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