Family’s Angel Tree donation in memory of baby daughter

By Cole Parkinson SOUTHERN ALBERTA NEWSPAPERS cparkinson@tabertimes.com on November 18, 2022.

Southern Alberta Newspapers photo Jane Fox, from Lethbridge Family Services, receives a donation from the Geerligs family. The Enchant family made a donation of over 200 plus gifts to the Angel Tree Toy Depot.

It’s starting to look and feel like Christmas outdoors and a family in Enchant, along with the surrounding community, have donated over 200 plus gifts to the Angel Tree Toy Depot in Lethbridge.

Emily and Alex Geerligs donated last year after their baby daughter Madison passed away, and they decided to commemorate what would have been her first birthday by donating to the Angel Tree Toy Depot. On Monday, the Geerligs once again delivered tons of gifts that will be handed out to children in need this Christmas season.

“We hosted our first toy drive last year and it is in memory of our daughter who we lost. It was very successful last year and we weren’t sure we wanted to ask people to do it again, but we had some friends ask if we were doing it and we thought we better do it – I think it’s even bigger than last year,” Emily explained. “This is something that we weren’t able to do for our daughter, and so, it just means the world that we can do it for all the kids who aren’t as fortunate.”

With two years down, the family is expecting this to continue next year as well. While they were the main source of getting this big donation together, the communities of Enchant and Vauxhall have been instrumental in contributing with gifts and cash.

“I think we better (continue). I believe it just gets bigger and bigger,” added Emily.

“We’re just really fortunate the community that we live in – Vauxhall, Enchant, and the surrounding area. The big part of this toy drive for this year, actually was Vauxhall Minor Hockey,” explained Alex. “They heard we were doing it again just because of family and friends, and they had said they wanted to do a ‘fill the net’ campaign. So, they advertised it out to all the families and we actually hosted that two Saturdays ago. We had a home game for the under-seven team and all of the players and families brought toys, and that was kind of the jump start for it all. It’s a big community effort to do this and we’re thankful for the support we have from the community.”

As Christmas approaches, many families are struggling with inflation and high prices across the market. The Geerligs hope this donation of 200 plus gifts can bring some joy to families this holiday season.

“I think it’s a huge thing. I feel like we’re very fortunate in the world that we live in – we are kind of, I almost want to say you live in a bubble sometimes when you don’t see the struggle out there for a lot of families,” continued Alex. “We’re fortunate what we do in our livelihoods. We’re in a tight community and we really are fortunate for that. So, to be able to do something like this and teach our own kids that life isn’t always as easy as that for other families. And that’s kind of the biggest thing for us, to kind of teach the kids about this too and give in our daughter’s name.”

The Angel Tree for Kids Campaign collects new, unwrapped toys during November and December each year, and then distributed the gifts in Christmas gift bundles to children/youth in Lethbridge and area.

If you are interested in a donation to the campaign, you can drop off gifts at the Angel Tree Toy Depot at 108-920 2A Ave N or the Lethbridge Family Services building at 1107 2A Ave N.