Salvation Army Angel Tree in El Paso County sees record high number of families in need this year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- According to the Salvation Army, this Christmas there are a record number of families in need in El Paso County.

They are also seeing a matched increase in people wanting to help and fulfill this increased need.

This year, the Salvation Army in El Paso County had 500 families sign up, with 100 more on the waiting list. In past years they've serviced 400 families. But this year they increased it to 500 plus the extra 100 on the waiting list due to the need. This is also the first year they've created a wait list.

If they receive a surplus of toys, the extra will go to those families on the wait list called, forgotten angels.

"Your heart gets overwhelmed with the people that come," Salvation Army El Paso County Coordinator Captain Doug Hanson said. "The people that are crying because they see the bag of toys coming to them knowing that they're going to be able to supply for Christmas. Our whole goal here with families we're supporting is that the children don't know that we exist."

If you'd like to participate and help a family in need this holiday season, you can go to any Walmart or Big R store in El Paso County, pick out a tag, purchase a gift that matches up with the needs of the kid on the back of the tag, and return the unwrapped gift to a Salvation Army location before Dec. 24.

They ask for the gifts to be unwrapped so the parents can pick up the gifts during distribution and wrap them themselves.

The Salvation Army wants to make sure there is plenty of time for them to sort through the gifts, match them up, distribute the gifts back to the families who requested them in time for Christmas.

"We're helping out all these families," Hanson said. "Some of the stories that you hear where it's grandparents now raising grandchildren because mom's incarcerated, it's families that were laid off. In fact it's those last minute families that come to us is why we have a waiting list. It's the people that didn't know until the 15th of December that they weren't gonna make it. We wanna help all people."

If you can't pick up a tag and return a gift before the 24th, you can still donate online. The money will go towards purchasing a gift for a child in need this holiday season.