The Salvation Army gives out bags of toys to families in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Santa is getting some much-needed help this year, as hundreds of bags filled with toys head to the homes of families in Englewood.
It is all thanks to The Salvation Army, and generous donations from strangers.
On Wednesday on 69th Street near Morgan Street, Salvation Army Aldele and Robert Stern Red Shield Center director DeShawn Johnson was helping a line of cars filled with parents waiting to pick up their kids' gifts.
Nefertiti Rutlidge was one of those parents. She said The Salvation Army has been there for her ever since she moved into Englewood.
"It's very helpful—the food that they donate and the toys that the people give back to the community," Rutlidge said. "Like, it's such a crucial thing because this is such an impoverished neighborhood—and it's such a blessing. So for me, it means the world to me to have this type of help for my children."
The Salvation Army on Wednesday was hosting its annual Angel Tree Program. Families pre-registered in October.
"It's open until it's filled. So once we have the max number, then we normally close the site, and then we normally start asking for donations from people, organizations to help provide the toys for the kids," said Capt. AJ Zimmerman of The Salvation Army Adele and Robert Stern Red Shield Center.
The Salvation Army also gives out more than 1,000 boxes of food—filled with mashed potatoes, green beans, and turkey. Zimmerman said families receive one or two boxes depending on the families' size.
On Tuesday, the gym at The Salvation Army Adele and Robert Stern Red Shield Center was filled with bags of toys. The Salvation Army passed out 280 bags on Tuesday, and they were to pass out 375 on Wednesday.
"It's for us to make sure that families and children are cared for over the Christmas season; that there's not a child in our community that gets up in the morning and they don't have a gift under the tree, and they don't have something to eat on Christmas day," Zimmerman said.
The recipients were filled with gratitude.
"Thank you so much," said Rutlidge. "Like, this is going to make my children so happy when they come home and see that they have things."
The Salvation Army says once all families have been served, they will give the rest of the boxes over to the community.
