Indiana District makes Christmas wishes come true

At the end of 2023, teams from the Indiana District raised several thousand dollars for the local Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.

At the end of 2023, teams from the Indiana District raised several thousand dollars for the local Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.

The program operates under the belief that “every child deserves to experience the joy of Christmas morning.” Every year, the charity helps provide gifts for children around the country.

This past year, the team brought holiday joy to more than 100 underprivileged children and their families by providing toys, clothes, diapers and grocery gift cards.

“It was truly amazing. I was in awe of what we, as a district, were able to accomplish, and it far exceeded my expectations,” said Indiana District Office Manager Michele Epperson, who helped organize several aspects of the project. “Knowing that over 100 children were going to be able to wake up Christmas morning to something under the tree – it is something we all kept repeating as we looked around at all of the toys.”

This charity is one very near and dear to Epperson’s heart.

As a child, her house burnt down. With her parents being left with very little and the family living in a small motel, they were not looking forward to Christmas morning. But when they woke up, they saw something incredible.

“There were piles of presents under the tree. I was 9, and I still remember my 5-year-old brother saying, ‘There really is a Santa.’ When I was older, my mother told me how people from all over came and gave my parents money to buy the kids something they lost—they were our Santas,” she said. “This was just our district’s chance to be Santa to a group of children in need; the organization was just the conduit we needed.”

With the assistance of Kris Luce, vice president and general manager of the Indiana District, the groups were able to make a big difference in the community.

Several plants and groups were involved, including Kokomo Stone and Sand, North Indianapolis Quarry, Carmel Sand, Indiana Recycling #2, Belmont Sand, Waverly Sand, Kentucky Ave Mine, Johnson County Sand & Gravel, Cloverdale Quarry and Noblesville Sand as well as the Indiana District Office, Indiana District Electricians, the Mid-America Region office and the Central Division office.

By the end of the initiative, the group was able to raise more than $10,000 in cash and gifts.

“Christmas is about the children, and this is about keeping the magic alive for them," Epperson said. "It doesn’t matter if they think their parents bought the toys or Santa; it simply matters that they awoke to the magic.”