Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Applications for the Salvation Army of Jonesboro’s annual Angel Tree and Silver Bells giving campaigns are opening soon.
The Angel Tree is a Salvation Army program that gives needed clothes and toys for kids under age 12. The Silver Bells program assists seniors over the age of 65. This year, there are enough slots for around 300 families for the Angel Tree, and around 100 seniors for the Silver Bells program.
“Three hundred doesn’t sound like much, but when you start thinking … the average is three to five kids per person. So, that’s actually quite a bit of these gifts and children to buy for,” said Holly McLeod, office coordinator at the Salvation Army of Jonesboro. “Last year, we had around 250 slots total, and so it ended up being around 1,000 gifts, 1,000 people at that point.”
Applications will open at 10 a.m. on Sept. 15 for both the Angel Tree and Silver Bells campaigns and will be online only. The application will be posted to the Salvation Army of Jonesboro’s Facebook page when it goes live, which is where applicants will access it.
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To be eligible, applicants must live in one of the Northeast Arkansas counties the Salvation Army of Jonesboro serves. They are Clay, Craighead, Greene, Lawrence, Jackson, Mississippi, Poinsett, and Randolph counties.
When people apply, applicants will be asked if they have a code. Applicants are asked to click “no” and then enter their ZIP code. After this, applicants will enter their email address, which may send a verification email and contain instructions on how to proceed with the application.
Applicants must have a valid, working email address, as this is how all correspondence regarding the application will be delivered.
Applicants are also asked to provide the following:
- Valid photo ID
- Proof of residence (rental agreement, ultility bill, etc)
- Proof of guardianship (child or children’s birth certificates, custody or guardianship documents)
- Proof of need/income (Section 8, HUD lease agreement, SNAP paperwork, ARKids, SSI information, etc., will all work)
- Proof of income from all sources in the household (check stub, unemployment benefits, child support, letter from their employer, recent bank statement with income highlighted, and/or last year’s tax return, will all work)
- Proof of expenses (i.e. utility bills, rent or mortgage, insurance payments, etc)
- Clothing sizes of all eligible children in the household (include each child’s height and weight, as well as sizes for T-shirts, pants, underwear, shoes, and coats. U.S. sizes only)
- Wants and needs of each child. If there are any special considerations, such as a child having an aversion to certain textures, applicants are asked to include that in the “special concerns” section.
“This is not going to be broadcasted, only [the child’s] first name is going to be on the Angel Card,” McLeod said. “That’s why we have to ask for so much information, is because we are to make sure that there’s a true need, and that we want to help out our community in the best way possible.
McLeod noted that much of the same information was required for the Silver Bells application. She added that for both applications, the Salvation Army requests no edible donations, to accommodate for any unknown allergies.
Having these documents ready to go will help the application process go smoothly, as McLeod said the applications fill up quickly. Once applications close, she said the goal was to have all approved applicants notified by Oct. 1.
To donate to the Angel Tree program, Angel Tags with each child’s wants and needs are hung on Christmas trees in businesses across Northeast Arkansas. Donors select a tag, shop for the items on it, and then return the items to the Salvation Army of Jonesboro. McLeod said these tags would likely start to appear in stores around mid-November.
All gifts are due at the Salvation Army of Jonesboro’s office, located at 800 Cate Ave., by Dec. 8, with gifts to be distributed to families on Dec. 15. Families picking up gifts will receive a pickup time and location and must be able to pick up their gifts.
For those wanting to help with the campaigns, McLeod said volunteers will be needed to help sort through donations received. She said this would likely begin the Monday after Black Friday.
“It’s extremely important, especially this time of year,” McLeod said. “We feel like it is very important that we are diligent in making sure the need is met.”
For more information or questions about the applications, or if interested in volunteering, email McLeod at holly.mcleod@uss.salvationarmy.org or call 870-932-3785. The Salvation Army of Jonesboro’s Facebook page can be accessed here.
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