Angel Tree

Final week for Salvation Army Angel Tree adoptions

There are still about 10,000 angels waiting to be adopted for holiday gifts.

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The Salvation Army Angel Tree campaign is heading into its last week of the Angel Tree campaign with about 10,000 angels left to be adopted.

"The clock is ticking," Salvation Army Major Dawn McFarland said. "If there's one thing that I learned last year, it's that North Texas comes through to take care of their own."

At the Angel Tree in the Galleria in Dallas, 14-year-old Rudra Bhabana spent part of his Thanksgiving holiday volunteering for the Salvation Army.

"Every small thing makes a difference in the world," Bhabana said. "Being able to put a smile on some people's faces that you don't even know, it's like the best feeling in the world."

"Oh here's one for a little boy," Melissa Deleon said showing an Angel tag to her son. "We're gonna find one for a boy and one for a girl."

Deleon said she and her husband are teaching their children to think of others first.

"I grew up as a child not always having a Christmas gift every year," Deleon said. "It never bothered me. As long as my little brother had something, I was fine."

"There's no point in just, like, walking past a tree and not caring about other people," 11-year-old Muse Deleon said. "I'm gonna feel really happy that they get to experience what it's like to have Christmas and actually have something to enjoy!"

Though the Salvation Army Angel Tree campaign started at the beginning of November, it really kicks into gear on Black Friday.

"It's pretty cool to feel like Santa or Mrs. Claus," McFarland said. "The joy that you see in your children and grandchildren's eyes on Christmas morning when they walk by that Angel Tree, they have the opportunity to provide joy for somebody they may never meet."

"That one gift that this 10-year-old boy may open may change his life forever," Deleon said.

Saturday, Dec. 2 is the last day to adopt an angel and return gifts to mall drop off points or the Salvation Army Distribution Center.

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