On Nov. 3, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lake Nona will host its first ever Angel Tree. The Angel Tree is meant to support veterans and their families throughout the season of giving, and the Lake Baldwin location also will be included in the local Angel Tree. The Viera and Daytona locations also will be participating for the first time.
Adelina Sowell, the chief of voluntary services, looks forward to bringing our community together in support of those heroes who have served. “Well, I hope that the community just really embraces the opportunity to get involved with the veterans in a way that’s super meaningful right now, especially this time of year. A lot of people want to do nice things for people at Christmas, and they want to do nice things for veterans all the time. But because this is the first time we’ve done this here, and this community is a very giving community, my hope is that it brings people in who maybe have never come here before, maybe have never gotten involved; they’ve thought about it, but it was just one of those things on their someday list. This is a chance to go ahead and, in a very real way, affect somebody, a veteran, directly. My hope is that that’s something that speaks to people.”
As of Oct. 19, there are about 150 to 200 requests so far at the Lake Nona VA. Sowell believes that all of those requests can be filled and hopes to make that happen. “It’s an important part of the holiday season for them. I don’t want to see any child miss out on Christmas. Whatever it is that they get, if it’s not the top thing that they would want the most in life, but something, they know that people care about them, that they’re not forgotten, that there are people that are out there who are generous and want to make sure that they have a Christmas.”
Families are requesting items such as clothing, shoes and toys. Those who would like to help can visit the Lake Nona VA and locate the Angel Tree by the main information desk to register a tag from the tree. If you would rather make a monetary donation, you can contact Adelina at (407) 793-4314 or at adelina.sowell@va.gov for more information. The monetary donations made for the Angel Tree will help cover those gifts that are not brought in by the public.
The deadline for the gift donations is Dec. 15, so it allows voluntary services enough time to wrap the gifts and have them delivered in time to the families. Gifts need to be left unwrapped so they can be matched to the families’ wish lists.
