AKRON, IN – Anyone looking for a way to give back this Christmas season can sponsor a
family in need within the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation through the Miracle Tree
program.
Miracle Tree has been a holiday tradition in the Rochester community for more than a
decade thanks to the Mill Creek Missionary Church, but because of an increase in the
amount of people from the Tippecanoe Valley area seeking assistance, the decision was
made to expand the program.
Beginning Saturday, Nov. 9, trees were set up at Bell Memorial Public Library in Mentone
and also Akron Carnegie Public Library in Akron. Families throughout the Tippecanoe
Valley community who have expressed an interest in receiving help this year will be
assigned a number. Those numbers will then be placed on ornaments and hung on the
trees. The number lets a potential sponsor know how many children are in the family
and their ages.
“Each family will have a wish list for the sponsors to use when shopping, filled with
clothing sizes and toys requested,” said Darren Parker, a former instructor at
Tippecanoe Valley High School and a member of Mill Creek Missionary Church.
If a person, business or organization is interested in sponsoring a family, they simply
take an ornament from the tree and give it to the circulation desk at either library. The
sponsor is then provided a wish list for that family with items the children might want
for Christmas.
Sponsors wrap the gifts they purchase and then return them to Splendor Boats in Silver
Lake for sorting and delivery. To avoid any confusion, there are specific instructions on
each wish list on how to mark the gift after it has been wrapped so organizers know
which gift belongs to which family and child.
Gifts must be returned by Friday, December 6. Gifts will be distributed to each family on
a special night in December. The church will cater a meal, provide activities for the
children and take family pictures.
The Miracle Tree assisted over 125 families, provided Christmas gifts for more than 350
children, and fed more than 550 people at the culminating event night in 2018.
For additional information, contact:
Lori Tilden-Geiger
Director of Marketing, Public Relations, and Grant Writing
Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation – 574-598-2146
