The Wadsworth Salvation Army will begin taking applications on Tuesday for its Christmas Food and Toy Program and will continue taking them on Wednesday.
Applications will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day. Applications will also be taken Oct. 23 and 24.
Applicants will need a photo I.D., proof of income and expenses and proof of residency. The Wadsworth Salvation Army's service area, according to Maj. Debbie Grace, includes the city of Wadsworth and Wadsworth and Sharon Townships.
Grace noted the Wadsworth branch served 322 households last Christmas, which included 1,000 people, with this program. Combined, those households received 2,500 gifts, 1,600 toys and 2,000 articles of clothing, according to Grace.
The Salvation Army has “Angel Trees," which are stationed at various places throughout the area. Those trees are decorated with cards, each with the name of a child, the child's age and a list of suggestions of gifts for that child. Grace said the angel trees include names of newborns through high school.
Those "Angel Tree" cards are picked from the tree by those who want to provide donations of those specific articles for that child. The gifts are returned to the place where the card was obtained or at the Salvation Army building at 527 College St. in Wadsworth. Donated items along with ones purchased by the Salvation Army are used to fill the baskets. Each child usually receives five items, according to Grace.
Items are distributed to senior citizens at the senior residences in Wadsworth, Grace noted. Goldsmith and Eggleton provides warehouse space for some of the accumulated items and a distribution point for the food, Grace said.
More information on the program can be obtained by calling 330-335-2327.
