With 10 days to go before Christmas, Capt. Todd Brewer is beginning to get a little anxious.

Brewer is the commanding officer of the Selma chapter of the Salvation Army. He’s anxious because, as of Friday, there were still more than 140 angels on the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree.

That’s 140 kids who won’t have any reason to get excited about Christmas this year unless someone steps forward to adopt the angel with their name on it. For those kids, there won’t be any presents on Christmas morning because their mom and dad can’t afford any.

For a kid, it doesn’t get much worse than that.

Just ask Brewer. His name used to hang on an Angel Tree when he was a kid. It’s why he tends to take it personally. It’s why he’s getting anxious.

The Angel Trees are located in the Selma Mall and the Selma-Dallas County Public Library. Each &uot;angel&uot; has the first name of a girl or boy, age, his or her clothing sizes, and any special gift wish.

As in the past, Selma has responded generously, already adopting more than 400 angels. But the need is great, and time is short.

With 10 days left before Christmas, an average of 15 angels a day must be adopted.

Among the groups that traditionally sponsor more than one angel are the men and women of the Selma Fire Department, the youth groups at First Presbyterian and St. Paul’s Episcopal churches, and some of the larger companies in the Selma-Dallas County area.

Friday, the National Honor Society at Selma High School stepped up and donated $200 to the program.

That’s enough to make sure that another four or five angels won’t be disappointed this Christmas.

Brewer is also keeping one eye on the Salvation Army’s other Christmas effort, those familiar kettles manned by volunteer bell-ringers.

There are seven kettles scattered at locations across Selma.

Among the civic groups and organizations that have volunteered to man the kettles are the Pilot Club, the Pride of Alabama Elks Lodge, the Civitan Club, the Rotary Club and the Lions Club.