Washington County, OH– Although the holidays are several months away, Marietta Community Foundation is making sure that Santa is still coming to town for a thousand local children in need this Christmas.

Last year, Washington-Morgan Community Action announced that they would be retiring their Secret Santa Program, a program that gave gifts to roughly 800 children throughout Washington County.

However, through a partnership with The Salvation Army of Marietta Ohio, Marietta Community Foundation is ensuring that the children, previously served through Secret Santa, will still have the joy of seeing gifts under their Christmas trees.

“This has, and continues to be, a rough year,” said Heather Allender, President & CEO of the Foundation. “We want to end 2020 on a high note and what better way to do that than spreading hope to children in our community!”

Salvation Army served approximately 200 children in the Angel Tree Program last year, a similar program to Secret Santa. To accommodate the estimated 800 children previously enrolled in Secret Santa, the Foundation has partnered with the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program by providing support services and $10,000 to build a fund for sustainability.

“It’s hard to put into words how much this means,” said Lieutenant Megan Moretz of The Salvation Army in Marietta. “We’ve known since last winter when it was announced that Secret Santa wouldn’t be an option going forward, that the need for Angel Tree would be greater. I was nervous and didn’t know how we were going to meet the need, but just at the right time the Community Foundation stepped forward with this proposal.”

This fund will provide a solid base that Salvation Army can build upon for future sustainability of the program. This will enable The Salvation Army to increase its program’s capacity to serve a total of 1,000 local children in need.

“We’ve partnered with the Community Foundation before on several projects, and I can truly say that their generosity knows no bounds,” said Lt. Moretz. “I’m thrilled that, with their help, we will be able to make Christmas happen for children across Washington County.”

Each child enrolled in the program has their own tag, known as an “Angel Tree Tag,”  that lists their age, gender, and Christmas wish list. These tags are then disbursed throughout the community where individuals, families, organizations, and businesses can select them and purchase gifts for the child.

“This is a great way to spread Christmas cheer while also using it as a teaching moment for other children who don’t need programs to receive gifts,” said Allender. “Each year the Foundation’s staff uses this as a team-building exercise.”

For community members who would still like to participate in the program, but are unable to purchase gifts, there are several ways to get involved through volunteering.

“This year’s upscaling of the program is massive,” said Lieutenant Elisha Moretz of The Salvation Army in Marietta. “Due to the economic impact of COVID-19 as well as other similar programs in our community that ended after last year, we’re expecting demand to rise by as much as 400-600%. Volunteers will be needed most the week of December 14th to help us sort toys in anticipation of our distribution on December 17th and 18th.”

Individuals or businesses who want to donate their time to help in this massive effort can call 740-373-4043. As part of their partnership, Marietta Community Foundation is volunteering staff time to help the program sort/distribute gifts. The Foundation is encouraging local businesses and nonprofits to pitch in and build goodwill throughout the community.

The Foundation invites local donors to help the program build a sustainable future by giving to The Washington County Angel Tree Program Fund. Angel Tree Tags will be available at several locations, including the Foundation’s office at the corner of Front and Putnam in Downtown Marietta, a week before Thanksgiving. Community members can pick them up through December 10th.

“We want this program to last,” said Allender. “So many children and families depend on programs like this and we want to come through for them. A small gift under the tree may not seem like much, but to a child who doesn’t receive new things very often… it can mean the world.”

Marietta Community Foundation works to improve Washington County through grants and initiatives, if you feel inspired to be Santa Claus for a local child in need or wish to volunteer, please contact Heather Allender at 740-373-3286 or heather@mcfohio.org.