Woman Hears Couple Making Fun Of An Angel Tree Gift Tag And Then Realizes It's For A Struggling 70-Year-Old
The couple was apparently upset that a senior's name was on the tree, despite this being normal for the Salvation Army.
JimmyFam from Getty Images Signature / Canva Pro It’s the time of year when we start seeing angel trees pop up.
The Salvation Army uses angel trees to help people donate gifts from a wish list to disadvantaged children and seniors. People can pick paper tags off of an angel tree and buy gifts for that particular person from their wish list, which is all listed on the tag.
One Ohio woman was preparing to grab a few names and wish lists from her local angel tree when she noticed a couple laughing at one of the tags.
Amy Jackson, known as @amyjackson9213 on TikTok, took to the app to share the experience. The couple was “probably in their mid-to-late-50s,” she said. “They were mad about it.”
To figure out what all the fuss was about, Amy went over and looked at the piece of paper herself. It was from a 70-year-old woman who had asked for two things: a gift card to Mehlman’s and socks.
“I heard them say, ‘That’s ridiculous,’ and, ‘Why would they need anything?’” Amy said in one of the three videos she made on the subject.
The mocking couple seemed like they were questioning the validity of including a senior citizen on the angel tree instead of just children, but including needy and lonely elderly in the gift exhange is standard practice for the Salvation Army.
Amy had an excellent explanation: “I think people forget that a lot of the elderly people are on fixed incomes. Like, they don’t have a lot of extra money, and she’s literally asking for food and socks… basic human necessities in life.”
Photo: JackF from Getty Images / Canva Pro
Amy also didn’t understand why anyone would be mad about someone being on the angel tree in the first place. “If anything, that should make you happy that somebody is willing to be like, ‘Hey, I don’t have much. I would like a little bit of help this Christmas because it’s a hard time for everybody,’” she stated.
Not everybody believed Amy’s story about the struggling elderly woman.
After posting her initial video detailing the experience, Amy received plenty of empathetic responses in the comments. However, one person was skeptical. They claimed, “No one was making fun of anyone.”
Amy responded to this comment in a separate video. “I wish I could be like, ‘Yeah, I made it up for views and clout and attention,’” she said. “But, unfortunately, I swear on everything it was true.”
In the video, Amy went on to show off the socks she had bought for the woman whose name was on the tag, including various pairs of compression socks and fuzzy socks. Amy stated that she also wanted to gift the woman clothes, but since she wasn’t sure of her size, she was considering a $100 gift card.
Comments on this video were overwhelmingly positive. “You are doing a great thing,” one person wrote, while others came up with suggestions of what to add to the gift.
Amy also explained what Mehlman’s is to get her point across.
“Unless you live in the Ohio Valley, you’ve probably never heard of Mehlman’s,” Amy said. The restaurant is apparently a staple there and is so beloved that it was part of the woman’s Christmas wish.
Amy described Mehlman’s as being a cafeteria-style restaurant that’s very popular with the older crowd. She got the woman three $100 gift cards to the eatery so she could get meals there throughout the year.
“I want to make sure she has everything she needs and has a nice Christmas, from our family to hers,” Amy shared. “We care about her. She’s family now.”
Amy certainly took good care of the woman from her angel tree tag. However, it’s important to remember that anyone can get involved in charitable efforts and that gifts do not have to be extravagant or expensive. It truly is the thought that counts.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.