The Salvation Army Angel Tree program is seeking donations from the Chilton County community.

For the last two years, The Salvation Army’s Christmas Tree Angel Tree Program has been rather small in Chilton County, but help from different community groups now has the total up to 152 registered children, according to a press release.

“The first two years we came to Clanton to assist families with Christmas gifts, we only saw about 30 children,” said Lt. Jamie Leonard, Corps Officer of The Salvation Army. “The Alabaster office serves both Shelby and Chilton counties. The need this year is greater than ever. Their caseload has grown from 474 children last year to 728 children this year from both counties combined.”

Families in need of Christmas gifts for their children ages 12 and under had the opportunity to register at Clanton City Hall in October.

Since then, Leonard and her volunteer staff have been working to prepare the Angel tags for adoption.

“We have a huge donor base online through our Area Command website,

www.birminghamsalvationarmy.org. That’s a big help, but in Chilton County, we’ve always been so small,” Leonard said. “With numbers this high, the task is daunting, so The Salvation Army is looking to the broader Chilton community to step up and adopt these children. Most children have only asked for a couple of gifts, plus necessities such as clothes and shoes.”

On average, Leonard said donors spend roughly $75-$100 per child. The gifts purchased are then organized at The Salvation Army’s Christmas Workshop and distributed to families in mid-December.

Individuals or groups interested in providing gifts for children from the Angel Tree should contact Leonard via e-mail at jamie_leonard@uss.salvationarmy.org or call The Salvation Army at 663-7105. Online adoption on the website will be available by Nov. 14, but e-mail adoptions are available immediately.