NORWICH, Conn. — Employees and members of CorePlus Credit Union brightened the holidays of more than 70 children in eastern Connecticut by participants purchasing new toys and clothing through The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Tag program.
This is the third consecutive year that CorePlus has participated in the program. The credit union set a goal of fulfilling the requested donations on 75 tags, an increase from the 55 children supported in 2022, the credit union said.
“We’ve been overjoyed to see the community’s response every time we put up our Angel Tree, and this has been our best year yet,” said Meg Martellotta, VP-operations. “We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from CorePlus Credit Union’s members and employees, who have contributed in creating an enjoyable Christmas morning for our Norwich neighbors.”
Businesses, schools, and other organizations participate in the Angel Tree Tag program by setting up a tree and requesting as many tags as they think they can support. The tags — featuring the first name, age, and gender of a child, as well as requested gifts — are used to decorate the tree.
Participants remove a tag to purchase the requested gifts, which are returned to the participating organization with the tag attached. The Salvation Army then picks up all donations to distribute to families in the community.
In addition to helping individuals in need have a more enjoyable holiday, the Angel Tree Tag program helps defray the cost of purchasing Christmas gifts that would normally be part of The Salvation Army’s holiday expenses, the credit union said, adding this frees up more funding for The Salvation Army to support other emergency needs such as providing food, clothing, shelter, and assistance with rent or fuel.
CorePlus received 50 tags on Nov. 15th, and another 25 on Biv, 21st. The credit union has been encouraging its members to participate in the program through radio, social media, and newsletter messaging.