Valley kids getting Christmas gifts through Angel Tree Program
The Valley has a lot of secret santa's this Christmas, around 470 of them.
That's how many people donated to the Salvation Army of Harlingen's Angel Tree Program.
"It's amazing, we don't know the motive behind the donors, but a lot of them are very generous and a lot of them love to give bikes they love to buy a lot of things," Salvation Army of Harlingen Major Kelly Durant said.
Crystal Garza says she donates every year.
"I don't have any little kids at home anymore, and I understand how important it is that kids get something on Christmas, even if it's just something small," Garza said.
Bags are filled with toys going home to children in the Angel Tree Program, but the unique part about the program is that the bags are filled with gifts the children actually asked for. They were all hand-picked, and now they are going home to that child based on their Christmas list.
"They give you a list of what they actually want and what they actually need, and that's the best part, that you can go and pick for yourself what you can get for them," Garza said.
The Salvation Army of Harlingen had about 80 more kids in the program this year compared to last year.
"It's definitely the economy, a lot of people are coming to us for food," Durant said. "We've been serving more food boxes than ever, so we see there's a real need for people to get help."
Thanks to donors, all 539 children on the list will be waking up to toys on Christmas morning.