Paula Lafler, a social worker with the local Salvation Army, said two days into the process the charity has accepted slightly more than 30 applications, less than she had hoped to see early in the effort.

“We have plenty of volunteers helping us with the applications, but we're seeing about the same demand as this point in the process last year. I doubt it will last though. Each year we tend to start slowly, and toward the end of the application period things pick up quite a bit,” Lafler said.

According to Salvation Army officials, the annual program — which provides Christmas gifts for the children of area low income families struggling through the holidays — has been a huge success in years past.

“The Angel Tree program has helped so many families that are struggling just to make ends meet,” said Lafler. “It's a sad thing to think about, to realize a lot of these children wouldn't otherwise have had a single present under the Christmas tree come the holiday. And with the economy still struggling, especially out there in West Texas, we're expecting the demand to be just as high or higher than last year.”

The application process is simple, according to Lafler, and for some area children it could be the difference between waking up with gifts under the tree Christmas morning and waking up to nothing.

“They need to come in and bring a picture ID for all of the adults, social security cards for all of the household members living there, birth certificates for children 12 and under and proof of income,” said Lafler. “That means check stubs from work, food stamps, AFDC, TANIF, HUD or any of those types of income. They need to bring those in with them, because we do verify them. They also need to bring in a copy of all of their expenses, as well as a list of what their children might want for Christmas, including clothes sizes and shoe sizes.

“The picture ID has to be a state issued ID, not the kind you can get at certain convenience stores. Also, they need to be sure to bring either the social security card itself, or a print out from the Social Security Office. It has to appear on something official, even DHS (Department of Health Services) records.”

Lafler said one new addition to the application process this year will be a requirement for birth certificates for the children.

“That's really the only change from last year's application process,” she said.

Lafler said area families wanting to apply for assistance through the Angel Tree program can do so through Friday, beginning each day at 9 a.m.

“We’ll also accept applications the following week, from Oct. 12 until Oct. 16,” she said. “All they have to do is come by the office between 9 a.m. and noon, or 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.”

Lafler said Angel Trees will be set up at several different locations in the city, allowing holiday shoppers to choose angel cards from the branches and purchase the presents listed on the card.

“The plan, as of right now, is to have the trees located at the same places as last year,” said lafler. “However, we really haven't gotten that far yet, so there could be some minor changes. As soon as we have that part of the program solidified, we'll get the word out to the public.”

For more information on the Angel Tree program, call 267-8239 or stop by the Salvation Army office at 811 W Fifth St.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it