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The Salvation Army, in partnership with Toys For Tots and the Cheer Fund, donated toys to around 2,000 kids this year during their Angel Tree program. 742 of those kids were adopted by churches, organizations, families, and individual people as “angels.” The other 1,250 kids are covered by Toys for Tots and the Cheer Fund.

Lindsay Richardson has seen first-hand how the Cheer Fund impacts the Salvation Army as the Suffolk News-Herald publisher and Cheer Fund board member.

“Through the generous donations received from residents, corporations and non-profit organizations throughout our community, Suffolk Cheer Fund was able to provide $50,000 worth of toys for the children of Suffolk,” Richardson wrote in a statement. “Every penny goes directly back into our community through the toys purchased and distributed through the Salvation Army and the Angel Tree program.” 

Captain Karen Twinney at the Salvation Army said the Cheer Fund accounts for about 80% of the kids, and she does her best to make sure the Cheer Fund money goes to kids in Suffolk. 

Cheer Fund money goes toward adopting kids in Suffolk who were unable to be adopted otherwise, Richardson said.

With the Cheer Fund donations, Twinney said they work with a toy wholesaler to maximize the amount of toys they can buy. With those toys, they set up their own toy shop and have volunteers come in to pick from those items for the remaining kids.

Twinney said this method works just as well as if a kid were to be adopted and shopped for off of an angel tree. 

Richardson was able to shop with Twinney, buying toys for the remaining angel tree kids. She also helped bag up some of those Cheer Fund toys that will go directly to Suffolk families.  

“It’s an amazing partnership between Salvation Army, Cheer Fund and then that extra supplement, Toys for Tots,” Twinney said. “This happens to be the best cohesion of agency or collaboration that I’ve actually ever worked with.”

In addition to this collaboration, Twinney said none of this would be possible without the contributions of the volunteers and the donors.

One volunteer in particular, Dylan Scribner, is a senior at Windsor High School and has been volunteering after school every day for a month.

“I love it, and I think it’s a great way to give back to the community and to show people the right way of doing things,” he said. “Giving back, helping others has been one of my main things that I really try to go for in life, and I thought this was a great way to help others.”

Scribner said he volunteered at the Salvation Army occasionally with his mom when he was a kid. Since she isn’t able to dedicate as much time to it anymore, Scribner said he’s continued the tradition.

Twinney said that Dylan has been a huge help during the holiday season and is always fun to work with. They gift a lot of bikes to kids, and Twinney said Dylan has built all the bikes that have come in boxes. She rarely has to tell him what to do, and never has to tell him twice, she said.

With two adult sons of her own, Twinney jokingly said God knew she needed another 18-year-old boy to make her smile. 

“He’s the kind of young man that you just really want in this kind of program, that he kind of saw what the need is,” she said.

Since Twinney has been involved with the Salvation Army for over 30 years, she’s personally witnessed some heartfelt stories. This year, she was able to witness both sides of the coin, having spoken with a donor and the receiver of their gift. 

A donor bought a child his most wanted Christmas gift, and shared with Twinney that she chose to spend her holiday retail bonus on the gift. The lady told Twinney she would have done it for her grandchild, so why wouldn’t she do it for someone else’s. 

Twinney also met the mom of the child who received this gift. The mom shared that her son had made the honor roll at school and she was excited to be able to continue their celebration through the holiday with his most-wanted gift. 

Twinney thanked all the volunteers who donate their time to the Angel Tree program, whether it’s buying for a child, or helping to pack up and distribute the gifts. She also wants to thank everyone who contributed to the Cheer Fund, stating that their donations truly do make a difference.

Richardson said she hopes to continue being so immersed in the Angel Tree program for years to come.

“There is something so heartwarming about knowing you personally played a role in making a child’s Christmas just a little brighter,” she said. “That’s what these funds do, they are critical to so many in our community at a time when help is most needed and those who have donated to the fund join in on bringing Christmas joy to the littlest of Suffolkians.”