News Release

AKRON — Anyone looking for a way to give back this Christmas season can sponsor a family in need within the Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. through the Miracle Tree program.

On Saturday, Nov. 12, trees were set up at Bell Memorial Public Library in Mentone and Akron Carnegie Public Library. Families throughout the Tippecanoe Valley community who need help were assigned a number.

Those numbers were placed on ornaments and hung on the trees. The number lets a potential sponsor know how many children are in the family and their ages.

“Each family will have a wish list for the sponsors to use when shopping, filled with clothing sizes and toys requested,” said Darren Parker, a former instructor at Tippecanoe Valley High School and a member of Mill Creek Missionary Church in Rochester.

If a person, business or organization is interested in sponsoring a family, they simply take ornaments from the trees and bring them to the libraries’ circulation desks. The sponsor is then provided a wish list for families with items the children might want for Christmas.

Sponsors wrap the gifts they purchase and then return them to Splendor Boats in Silver Lake for sorting and delivery. To avoid any confusion, there are specific instructions on each wish list on how to mark the gift after it has been wrapped so organizers know which gift belongs to which family and child.

Gifts must be returned by Wednesday, Dec. 14. They will be distributed to each family on a special day in December along with a box of food goods for each family participating.

This year’s Miracle trees will assist more than 125 families, providing Christmas gifts for more than 375 children and food for more than 620 people.