Christmas Angel Trees, Etc.

I was just told about this for the third or fourth time this year and think that this is more information that I need to give to you.

All of those people have told me that some people are trying to pass rubbage on to us at such places as American banks where you can choose the age, sex and Christmas want or need of a person who is signed up to receive Christmas gifts. These "children" are supposed to be kids who will not be receiving any Christmas gifts unless we are able to provide them. In most cases, the children are from financially stressed families.

All of these complaints that I have received so far, claim that these "children" are in need of "adult-sized clothing, etc". If you have found something like this at your bank, please take it to an employee of the bank for additional clarification. Of course, that angel might very well belong to a child who wears adults clothing. Unfortunately, the people whom I have heard from have told me that when they asked for more information on this child, the banks did more research and discovered that the angels had been given to very young children. At that point, the bank employee and the potential giver determined that the parent of one of these kids was actually trying to get clothes for himself or herself.

This is a very honorable service that our banks provide for area citizens. In most cases, these gifts get to whom they were intended--people 18 years of age and younger. But, we all need to know that there are always those people who take advantage of the system of kindness.

Not only do some people who sign up for angel trees "steal" from the good-hearted, so do others who claim that without your help, their kids will receive nothing. My advice to you on that matter, is to do some research of your own. If you learn that the parents drive nice vehicles, engage in such activities as smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products, brag about producing daily meals that consist of foods that YOU cannot afford to give to your own families, or if their kids have better clothes or "luxury items" such as Blackberries, IPODS, etc. than what you can afford to provide for your own children, or children who belong to parents who choose to be unemployed and just live off of the welfare system, etc. and the kindness of others in the community, my advice to you is NOT to purchase anything for that family. Use that money for someone who REALLY deserves the gifts. If you do not know the family personally, do some checking around with others who do. You'd be surprised at how much information some of these "needy families" will ignorantly place on FACEBOOK, TWEETER, MYSPACE, etc... What they write usually says it all...

So, my advice to all of you is to USE CAUTION when considering your gift-giving to people whom are seemingly less fortunate than you this Christmas season... Personally, if you have considered giving gifts to my blog's Christmas Children, please contact me for additional information on these 6 children.

620-375-4584 620-376-8922 slblaus@gmail.com

VLE-B