Ashley’s Angels donates for more than 1,000 children this Christmas

ARCADIA, Wis. – Ashley’s Angels, a non-profit organization based here, spread the Christmas spirit by delivering truckloads of food, clothing and toys more than 1,000 children in need near Ashley Furniture manufacturing and distribution facilities in Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

This year the organization raised more than $174,000 across the country, and Ashley’s employee contributions accounted for nearly $75,000 of this total, which provided for children enrolled in 56 different school districts.

The all-volunteer organization works with local schools — primarily school guidance counselors and nurses — to identify children who need some extra assistance. Every child in the program, along with his or her sibling(s), has the option to receive a warm coat, boots or shoes, clothes, blanket and a special Christmas present. Each child’s family also received a Christmas dinner with all the fixings.

The Wisconsin division shopped for 356 children this year, the Mississippi division for 533 and the more recently formed Pennsylvania division, 167.

The Ashley’s Angels program was established by an Ashley Furniture truck driver from Mississippi in 1997 after he heard about a girl who was living in a car with her mother. The Ashley driver recruited help from other truckers to provide food, clothing, and additional assistance by helping the family find proper housing before Christmas. Seeing the impact that their efforts had made in this family’s life pushed those involved to form Ashley’s Angels.

Each year in December, volunteers are handed a shopping cart and a list to pick out clothes and toys based on the child’s needs and desires. The gifts are then loaded on trucks and delivered to the area schools for distribution to the identified families the week before Christmas, ensuring that each child would have a gift to unwrap Christmas morning.

Todd Wanek, Ashley Furniture’s president and CEO, said, “I want to thank all of the volunteers and our employees for their selfless efforts in organizing and executing Ashley’s Angels.”