Spreading holiday cheer one gift at a time

Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — Christmas may be more than a month away, but the season of giving has already arrived.

The Salvation Army's Christmas campaign kicked off this week, with Angel Trees going up across South Dakota.

For 117 years, the Salvation Army's Christmas Campaign has been helping spread holiday cheer.

"We know that there are families that are struggling in the community that are less fortunate in the community that need a step up. And sometimes it's just a small investment in purchasing a toy for a child that 's going to brighten and make their holiday season. It's going to make the holiday season for the entire family," Communications Coordinator Darrell Shoemaker said.

More than 125 Angel Trees are up throughout the Black Hills.

"I think it is a great effort, a great community effort because it's not something we can do alone. It's something that takes our entire community to be a part of this and be able to make sure Christmas is a beautiful, beautiful time of the year for people," Salvation Army Black Hills Area Coordinator Jerry O'Neil said.

All you need to do is pick up a tag, buy a gift and bring it back to the Angel Tree or the Salvation Army.

"We appreciate that generosity. The city loves to partner with these organizations, knowing that those expressions, those small gifts are going to have such great impacts in our community," Shoemaker said.

"We want to make sure that we're providing the best quality programs of service and we want to make sure that we're partnering with a lot of people to make sure that happens. It's very important for us to be able to bring cheer into people's lives. Sometimes it's simple, sometimes it's not so simple. But it's a great opportunity for us to make a significant impact in our community and you can help as well," O'Neil said.

If you live in an area that doesn't have an Angel Tree but still want to help, you can order online from Walmart and those gifts will be shipped straight to the Salvation Army.

The Angel Tree campaign continues until December 10th.