Although many residents and local businesses stepped up to the plate and sponsored a child for the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program during a recent one-day radio blitz, several angels still remain.

Salvation Army Maj. Mary Welch said in an effort to get all the angels sponsored, the Salvation Army is placing a Christmas tree in the Walgreens on Highland Avenue, which will showcase the remaining angels. The Selma-Dallas County Public Library will have a tree as well.

“They can always come by the office too and pick up an angel,” Welch said. “We have several left that need sponsors.”

The program began with 520 angels and after the radiothon, 163 remain. Welch said she hopes the angels are quickly adopted because it’s important they are all adopted to ensure those children have a special Christmas morning.

“It helps provide a better Christmas for these kids,” Welch said. “Most of them won’t have presents if it weren’t for this program.”

As an alternative to buying gifts for an angel, the Salvation Army is providing the option of donating $50 toward an angel and having a volunteer do the shopping. Most people, however, enjoy the idea of shopping for a child though, Welch said.

“They just enjoy that process of buying for a child, especially for one that is in need,” Welch said. “We had one lady come in and say ‘I do this every year because my child is grown and they don’t need anything anymore.’”

Some of the presents requested by angels include nail polish, dolls, a basketball, action figures and for some of the youngest angels, diapers.

The purpose of the program, Welch said, is for the parents to give the gifts to the children.

“It makes a big difference for the kids that receive these gifts because it makes their Christmas a little bit better,” Welch said. “We need all these angels to be sponsored.”

For more information on the program, call 872-1646 or visit the Salvation Army office at 2104 Franklin St.