Trueline’s Again Marching with the Salvation Army

While the holiday season will look and feel much different this year, for so many people in our community, the needs remain the same.

With business closures and employee layoffs dominating the economic news, and with no letup of COVID-19’s impact as the new year approaches, it’s more important than ever that we help those in need.

Here at Trueline, we feel an added responsibility to show our support for the local Salvation Army Angel Tree, which strives to bring holiday cheer to households—especially the little ones—for whom December 25th might be just another cold winter day.

In previous years, our efforts have been much more festive, a tree conspicuously placed in front of the big windows at our Congress Street headquarters. Tags were quickly snatched and each day more staffers would bring in more gifts—ones that often entailed no small sacrifice on their part. Children’s toys, especially the high-tech kind, aren’t inexpensive.

“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are people in our community who need our help. The Angel Tree is something tangible we can do to help—you can literally touch it and see a glimpse of the child you’re impacting.”

– Haj Carr, Trueline President & CEO

But so many of us believing it’s better to give than to receive, our efforts didn’t stop there. We’d drop cash into the red kettles in downtown Portland and the outlaying shopping centers, or buy coffee for those true Salvation Army foot soldiers, the ringers.

Nowadays, with everyone working remotely, the celebrations will be muted. There will be no office party in the Old Port, no Yankee Swap, no baked goods on the cafeteria tables, no toasting each other before leaving work early on Dec. 24.  

But that shouldn’t stop us from doing our part to assist those less fortunate—and encouraging others to do the same. If you’re interested in starting an Angel Tree at your company, email Sarah Clifford (sarah.clifford@use.salvationarmy.org). She’ll email the Angel Tags along with instructions on where to deliver.

“Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are people in our community who need our help,” Trueline founder and CEO Haj Carr annually reminds. “The Angel Tree is something tangible we can do to help. You can literally touch it and see a glimpse of the child you’re impacting.”

While we won’t be able to see or touch the tree, we’ll still see the faces of youngsters opening gifts that they might not otherwise have. And long after the holiday décor is put away, let’s remember that the Salvation Army remains active year-round—this year and next maybe more so than ever, given the unprecedented needs.