2016 Holiday Tool Kit

The Salvation Army Angel Tree
Step- By- Step Guide
Introduction:
The Salvation Army Angel Tree program is purely a method of attracting donations
and gives the community a chance to express their concern for others. It involves
having malls, businesses, law firms, and other entities allowing a Christmas tree with
"ʺangels"ʺ attached to be set up in their location so that employees, customers, and other
interested people can select an "ʺangel"ʺ and then purchase a toy for use at Salvation
Army Toy-­‐‐'ʹn-­‐‐ Joy Shops or similar programs.
The Salvation Army Angel Tree program is not to be confused with toy distribution.
Individual units distribute toys in a variety of ways, often through toy shops where
parents "ʺshop"ʺ for toys for their children. In some cases, "ʺangel"ʺ tags represent actual
children who will receive the specific toy donated from the community. Most
commonly, however, the "ʺangels"ʺ are representative of children.
How a corps decides to distribute toys collected through TSA Angel Trees and other
means is up to the local unit and can vary from place to place. This section of the
toolkit specifically relates to a form of soliciting toy donations.
Recruiting TSA Angel Tree Sponsors:
For this program, you need to concentrate on finding sponsors for trees which will
have "ʺangels"ʺ hung on them. Ideal sponsors include malls where trees can be set up in
central locations, major department stores, and large businesses with a lot of foot
traffic. Other good sponsors include large businesses or professional firms where the
trees are set up specifically for employee participation. Many organizations like to
sponsor TSA Angel Trees for their employees rather than having gift exchanges.
Sometimes churches or schools will also host a tree on our behalf.
Here is how to start:
1. Determine how many toys you would like to raise via TSA Angel Trees. Assume
that only about one-­‐‐third of the angels on any given tree will be taken, so if you
want 300 toys, for example, you should plan to find enough sponsors for 900
angel tags.