COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — With Christmas just two weeks away, Salvation Army volunteers are busy preparing toys for children across the Midlands. It’s all a part of their Angel Tree program that’s been helping families in need since 1978. Just a few weeks ago, the Nutt Cattle Arena was full of livestock for the State Fair — and now it’s filled with rows and rows of bagged toys. Volunteers like Kelli Bennett help sort, pack, and ready the gifts so that families can pick them up starting December 16th. “It makes me happy to know that someone somewhere of all these families of all these bags, I can’t tell you the countless bags we’ve packed. Those children will have smiles on their faces and their parents will as well,” says Bennett. The Angel Tree program also helps those parents focus on their housing and utility payments, says Major Mark Craddock with the Salvation Army. “What we want is our families to remain as stable in their housing as possible. And so we help families in the Christmas season so they’re not taking January, February, March’s utility money and putting it to the Christmas season. So by helping them at Christmas with toys and food we can help them stay stable in their housing, groceries, and utility bills for the next three or four months,” Craddock says. Two thousand one hundred children were adopted through the Angel Tree program this year — providing kids with needed clothing and bedding items as well as plenty of toys on their wish lists. “Well, it’s right here on my shirt. And the reason why the Salvation Army does this is because we believe in the power of hope. And the Christmas season is a season of hope. And a lot of times our families want to know, and need to know, that their community around them sees them, knows them, understands, and is willing to help,” he says. And while adopted families will begin picking up gifts on Monday, Major Craddock says it’s not too late to donate. Toys can be dropped off at the Nutt Cattle Arena at the fairgrounds, or at any Salvation Army location nearby. “And when you give families hope, it’s amazing what they can do on their own. And what they will do to come alongside of you and move forward together,” he says. Categories: Local News, News Tags: Angel Tree, Kelli Bennett, Major Mark Craddock, Salvation Army