By Bethany Monroe DeBorde
Angel Trees are now on display in a variety of local businesses, offering green and red tags with gift requests for Chouteau County children.
Angel Committee members are asking for the community to step up to the challenge, as the need is particularly high this year. They are looking to purchase toys, clothes and other requested items for 133 Chouteau County kids this year – 58 in the Big Sandy area and 75 in the Fort Benton, Geraldine, Highwood and Carter area.
With two tags for each child – one tag contains clothing requests and the other tag has toys or other “fun” gift ideas – that means there are 266 tags for shoppers to fulfill.
Gifts should be left unwrapped and placed under Angel Trees by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9. Angel Trees are located at Benton Pharmacy, Lehman’s True Value, Rustic Mercantile, River’s Edge Greenhouse and Floral, Golden Triangle Brew Co., Joyce Fuel & Feeds, The Governor’s Keep in Fort Benton and Big Sandy Pharmacy and First Bank of Montana in Big Sandy.
For those who would prefer to shop online and have gifts delivered, they can be mailed c/o Vickie Reichelt at 2371 Dutch Ed Rd. Carter, MT 59420. Please include the family number from the tag within the order notes so the Angel Committee members know how to sort the gifts.
Angel Committee members will shop for any leftover tags, so monetary donations are also appreciated. Tax deductible donations can be made to GFWC Fort Benton with “Angel Program” on the memo line and mailed to PO Box 192, Fort Benton, MT 59442.
The Angel Committee, which is project of the GFWC Fort Benton Woman’s Club, also organizes the Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets for community members in need.
They collected ingredients for Thanksgiving meals from local organizations and divided them into grocery sacks for each family on Monday, Nov. 16, with distribution taking place in Big Sandy on Tuesday and in Fort Benton on Wednesday.
The Thanksgiving project alone served 338 people, including 62 households in Fort Benton and surrounding communities and 34 in the Big Sandy area.
They will distribute another round of groceries before Christmas. The annual food drive is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 13 from noon to 4 p.m. For updates, follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/angelcommittee.
