TAMPA, Fla. — The countdown to Christmas is on, and Salvation Army volunteers are gearing up for one of their busiest times of the year. The deadline for gift collection in their Angel Tree program is this week, and volunteers are working around the clock to fill every single box.
"Right now, the avalanche has started for us. It doesn't come in a little bit at a time about 75% of this will come in Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday," said Mark Woodcock, commander of the Salvation Army in Hillsborough County.
WATCH: Salvation Army’s Angel Tree deadline nears as volunteers race to meet holiday needs
Every year, the Salvation Army takes on 2,300 "Angels," meaning they help that many children receive gifts during the holiday season. The project usually begins in September.
"We take applications from needy families in our community and then after we verify that information, then we transfer that information onto Angel Tree Tags," Woodcock said.
In October, the tags get distributed to donors across Hillsborough County, including businesses, churches, and even Tampa Bay 28.
Woodcock gave Tampa Bay 28 reporter Annette Gutierrez a tour around the so-called 'Santa's workshop,' also known as the Salvation Army facility where all the gifts get sorted for distribution.
"So these have already been processed, but they haven't been put in the family box," Woodcock said.
But not every angel makes it back. Sometimes donors misplace a tag or forget altogether.
"It happens 25% of the time, 20% of the time. So the reality is that we have people with good intentions, they'll adopt an angel maybe they've lost the angel maybe life has changed for them, maybe they get to the store and they realize toys are a lot more expensive than what I thought and so they don't return the angel to us," Woodcock said.
So, the Salvation Army has a backup plan. Extra toys and clothes are donated, and volunteers fill in the gaps so no child is left without Christmas.
"When we make a commitment to those families, your kids are gonna receive some type of Christmas assistance we'll keep that promise, and it's through the forgotten angels and through the toy drives and people just dropping off and people donating in our red kettle or go online and giving a donation," Woodcock said.
At Tampa Bay 28, there has been so much interest from the community that the Angel tree is practically empty and the entryway is filled with gifts.
But the need goes far beyond toys and bikes. Woodcock says this year, they're seeing more families asking for basic essentials — even beds.
"Part of what they want is a bed to sleep on, not to sleep on a floor or a mattress on the floor, and so that's the power of this program of connecting people with these kids," Woodcock said.
Woodcock said they'll even add a few extra gifts for about 200 kids and end up gifting more than 12,000 children in the Tampa Bay viewing area.
"To put a value on all this, $400,000 just here in Hillsborough County. So you multiply that over in Pinellas County, Manatee, you know, Polk, it's, we're talking, probably a couple million dollars before it's all said and over with," Woodcock said.
And the spirit of giving grows stronger every year - with more hands and more gifts.
"We're always overwhelmed with the generosity of people and the spirit of Christmas, and it doesn't matter what walk of life you come from, what faith you come from, love is a common language, and we need a lot of love in this world and thankfully we see a love, a lot of love in this angel tree program," Woodcock said.
Tampa Bay 28's deadline to drop off gifts for an adopted angel is Wednesday. Extra angel tags are still available for those able to shop and deliver items by the cutoff. Our news station is located across the street from Raymond James Stadium.
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