PRESTON – If it weren’t for two Franklin County lady elves, 100 children wouldn’t have very many presents under their Christmas trees. They are still at it this year, bringing Christmas to less fortunate children throughout the county. For some 18 years the two Angel Tree gals – Robin Barrett and Heidi Nye – have been at it spreading Christmas cheer.
Heidi Nye and /Robin Barret have been blessing the lives of under privileged children in Franklin County for 18 years.
“We helped about 100 kids this year,” Barrett said. “It’s the same thing just a different year.”
“We had some donations made by businesses who want to remain anonymous,” Barrett said. “I think we spent around $15,000 this year on gifts.”
The two start in October, printing applications and distributing them around the community. They put collection jars in area retail establishments and put the Christmas Trees in what they consider to be high traffic areas.
There are a verity of toys purchased for children for the Angel Tree Program in Preston.
After the tags are hung on trees, they hope the public will do their part and buy gifts for each tag. When the gifts start arriving, they are laid out in the Archery Building and separate them and put them in large plastic bags.
“We have eight bicycles we are giving away this year,” Barrett said. “We don’t have a clue what we need until all of the gifts from the tags come in, then we have to buy all the other stuff.”
There are guidelines people must follow to be on the list and the ladies check it twice. Everything must be checked. So far, for almost two decades it has worked well for them.
“We screen the families using the same criteria that the health department uses to determine who we give help to,” Berrett said. “Once we get the information, we make tags and hang the ages and needs on the trees.”
A file photo of an Angel Tree decorated at Big J’s in Preston
Year after year the two have been amazed at the generosity of the residents when it comes to helping others during the holidays.
“We’ve had about the same number of children that needed help the last few of years,” Nye said. “We need to thank True Value, Big J’s and West Side High School for letting us put trees up in their facilities. There would be no Angel Trees without their cooperation.”
They originally thought they would stop doing the Angel Tree program after their babies graduated from high school and left home, then they would hand it off to someone else. But it has kind of grown on them and now it is just part of their family holiday tradition.
The Berrett and Nye children have grown up and left home, but when they come home they help if they can as part of their Christmas tradition.
The Angel Tree production has been a Nye/Barrett family tradition for as long as some of the kids can remember.
Every year family friends and volunteers meet at the Archery Building and sort gifts and put them in plastic bins with name tags on them so they know who gets what.
Some of the bags of toys were picked up earlier in the week and this is what’s left for Christmas 2024.
Sometimes there’s a lot of pressure trying to collect the tags from the trees and buy all the items to give to the children. Sometimes they wonder if it’s all worth it, but when people start to pick up their bags and they get all the hugs and tears, it makes it all worth it.