Angel Tree aims to help underprivileged families by donating Christmas gifts of toys and clothing. 

Teachers have been given the option to ‘adopt an angel’ and collect donations with their 2A class periods, and those who have chosen to participate have been collecting gifts for a child in this program. 

“Small World is an organization that manages the Angel Tree program and they collect items for students in Frisco ISD,” counselor Lanae Rainey said. “We get information like their age, gender, their want-list, their needs, their shoe size, stuff like that.”

ISM teacher Heather Whitcomb was adamant in getting her students to donate.

“They get to be a part of something,” Whitcomb said. “When you are giving and donating and being a part of something that’s bigger than you you are thinking about others first.”

For junior Sadie Johnson, it was rewarding thinking that their gifts will help someone else.

“I was involved in the angel tree program by donating gifts for our class angel. He was a 4-year-old who loved cars. We got him shirts, pants, a helmet, bike and some toys,” Johnson said. “I feel that the Angel program because it is a great way to help out kids and need and give them a chance to receive Christmas presents even when they can’t afford them.”

Another part of the project is that the donations given to the kids can be wrapped by the kids’ families, giving families the opportunity to give their kids presents on Christmas. 

“My favorite thing about these [donations] being unwrapped is that it empowers families to do what they want,” Rainey said.  “It’s not just someone giving them something, it’s empowering them to be their own Santa Claus or to wrap for their own kids.”

Whitcomb hopes this community project encourages students to keep doing things for other people in the future.

“Stuff like this starts at a young age,” Whitcomb said. “If you don’t like to start participating in these kinds of events and volunteering and donating time and these gifts, then what’s gonna make you wanna do it in the future?”