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HANCOCK — Hopefully, a community’s family support system is happening all year long. Relatives, school personnel, church family, friends and neighbors are all there to help families’ raising their children, but sometimes, at Christmas time, families need a little extra support.

Volunteers and staff at The Salvation Army (TSA) & Copper Country Angel Mission (CCAM) are, and have been since October, organizing and preparing for another Christmas Season. Together we offer parents an opportunity to register their children in our “ANGEL TREE” Christmas programs. We already have more than 350 children registered.

As part of the registration process parents are asked about the desires and needs of their children. The more a parent tells the sponsor about their child the more the gift can be personalized to that particular child. Parent/guardians have an opportunity to suggest color and size preferences. Things their child enjoys doing, i.e. reading, games, special sport or character on TV. Even their favorite kind of cereal or snack is a window into a child’s life.

Sponsors are given time to be creative with their gifts. Sometimes it’s not the “gift” itself that’s important but the thought and the time taken to put it all together. That’s what makes it special.

If you wish to be, or know you should be, an “Angel Sponsor,” you can contact CCAM (through their website) or call TSA (906-482-3420) and ask to be given a child, or a whole family to sponsor.

If you are a family in crisis and finding it hard to make Christmas for your child, you can register through the CCAM website or at both TSA and CCAM buildings by using the QR code posted.

CCAM and TSA have built an efficient “Christmas central registration” process that works to ensure that we are not servicing all the same families, but our programs are a bit different.

At TSA, if you represent a “group” interested in offering your “tribe” an opportunity for community service, TSA will give you “Angel Envelopes” to place on your own “Angel Tree” at your church, organization or business. Just choose an envelope off the tree. Each envelop will represent an actual child. The age and gender of the child is on the outside of the envelope and on the inside of the envelope will be found instructions for the sponsor, information about the child, and a Big Red Bag to place the unopened gifts.

If you find that you have more envelopes than sponsors just call. We will pick up the un-loved envelopes, and we will make sure that those children get gifts. On the other hand, if you find that you’ve run out of envelopes and people are clamoring for more “opportunity” just call and we will get you more. Our goal is to have every child “sponsored”.

If we are unable to find sponsors for every child, don’t worry. We will shop for them from our “toy shop” filled with gifts donated by the community at our Walmart “angel tree” sight. When we have all the “Big Red Bags” filled and at our facility at 408 Ravine St. Families are called to pick them up and while there, parents/guardians choose underwear, socks, and Christmas candy and add them to each bag.

Families are all very grateful. The fact their community is thinking about them during the holidays gives an experience of love and caring. This is an opportunity for those in need to humbly accept help and know that one day they would be in a position of abundance. In many cases, our sponsors care because someone cared for them. Isn’t that the way it is supposed to be?

CCAM and TSA believe this is a perfect opportunity for our community to share the Christmas Season with families (children) who need a little extra Christmas Cheer — 2025!

Wow, ANGEL trees, with ANGEL children on it, sponsored by a community of ANGELS.

Doesn’t that sound … Heavenly?

Both the Copper Country Angel Mission and The Salvation Army run Christmas “Angel Tree” Programs. Last year we worked together to offer the community an electronic “Central Registration” process to ensure that we were not servicing the same families. If you want to help TSA, take an envelope off an “Angel Tree” (at local churchs) and purchase gifts for that child. You can also register as a sponsor (any time at 906-482-3420, ask for Rhoda) and you will be given an angel for whom you can shop.

If you want to help CCAM, you can register as a sponsor on their website. If you want to help both TSA and CCAM, take an Angel Tag off the Houghton Walmart “Angel Tree”, buy the gift suggested on the tag, and leave it (with the tag) in the big red barrel. The gift with go into an unsponsored child’s Christmas Bag.