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Angel tree fulfills untraditional needs

Thanks to many angels from the community, some Fayette students will receive gifts this holiday season that will truly make a difference in their lives.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Fayette County School Systemís CARE (Children at Risk in Education) program has sponsored an angel tree at the LaFayette Educational Center. What makes this angel tree different is that instead of collecting toys and gifts for needy children, it fulfills nontraditional needs such as healthcare insurance, after school program scholarships, home repairs, band instruments and eye glasses, to name a few.

This year 98 student names filled the angle tree, the most to date. Teachers, counselors and principals from public schools throughout the county identified students for inclusion on the tree.

Just over a week before Christmas, nearly all of the angels have been sponsored, thanks in part to several non-profit organizations that heard about the project such as Square Foot Ministries that will take care of submitted home repairs and Holiday Helpers, which donated over 20 bicycles.

“Thanks to these organizations, we have been able to do more with our angels than we had anticipated,” said Karen Spangler, CARE coordinator and organizer the program.

The angel tree program started four years ago as a way for employees at the LEC to connect with the needs of students in the countyís schools. Each year the number of angels on the tree has more than doubled from 40 in 2000 to 98 in 2004.

Only a few unsponsored angels remain on this yearís tree but Spangler says that she will continue to work to find sponsors for them, even after the holidays if necessary.

“This program is all about addressing need and making a true difference in a child or family’s life. There is no better gift for a parent than to know that their child is safe because they are in the after school program or have healthcare coverage in times of sickness or a medical emergency,” she said.

Although the angel tree addresses nontraditional needs, sponsors usually end up including traditional gifts such as toys, games and clothing. However, Spangler says the most touching part of the program is receiving thank you letters from children who are appreciative to receive a pair of eye classes or batteries for a hearing aid.

“Last year we received a thank you note from a teacher on behalf of a child who received batteries for her hearing aid for use at home and at school. It just blew us all away and touched our hearts,” she recalled.

In addition to the angel tree, the CARE program collected canned food for the Fayette Samaritans.