Thamara Millan brought non-profit organization, The Small World Angel Tree program, to FISD in order to help impoverished students in need. 

Millan began her career in the Frisco Independent School District during the mid-90’s as a teacher at Rodgers elementary school. Throughout her time at Rodgers, she taught a substantial number of students from underprivileged families; she had firsthand look at the effect financial insecurity had on a student’s  academic performance.

With this in mind, she was inspired to launch what the community now known as the “Angel Tree” annual fundraiser.

For the past 33 years, the Angel Tree program has adopted millions of children across the country whose families are in need during the holiday season. The program provides them with a variety of personalized  gifts to open on Christmas morning.

The non-profit is assisted by  clubs and organizations throughout FISD. Each participating group “adopts” a child, referred to as an “Angel”. The club/organization then purchases items off  the child’s Christmas list of wants and needs, i.e., furniture, bikes, toys, shoes, and clothing. 

Last week on Thursday, Dec. 14, Angel Tree volunteers distributed hundreds of  FISD donations to the Angel’s parents at Transportation West, located on the Wakeland high school campus.

Not all gifts/donations could fit inside Transportation West though.  Four trailers filled were also stuffed with  bikes and other large items that could not be packaged with the rest of the gifts. 

Now Chief Executive Officer of Small World with Love, Millan reinforces how greatly the organization has grown over the years, and the constant support she has received from FISD volunteers and staff members.

“This program means everything to me because it is my passion, and I just adore the kids. When I helped the students in my class years ago, it really got the ball rolling. Over time, the program just started to grow and grow in FISD,” said Millan. “Everybody working here today has the passion it takes to do something like this because there is no pay, and it is a lot of hard work. They don’t mind carving time away because they truly want to help.”

Collin College also started participating about two years ago; the school now provides  one full two-year scholarship to an Angel every year.

Looking back on certain obstacles the program has overcome, Millan shares how the Angel Tree continued to thrive through COVID-19 protocols and limitations.

“COVID was very interesting because there were a number of people telling me I had to stop that year due to restrictions that were in place. Somehow, we figured out how to do it, changing the program tremendously so that it was contactless,” she said. “It worked out, and the community was very happy and thankful because they thought that we wouldn’t have it. A lot of people were and still are counting on this program.”

Volunteer Ally Black explains how a typical Distribution Day is done, and the constant team-effort that goes into orchestrating the detailed process. 

“Today, D-day, is the end, and myself and other volunteers are passing out all of the gifts that we have been gathering for months. We started planning way back over the summer, and all the FISD Angels are bagged, sorted, and organized here in preparation for today,” she said. “This is my first D-day, and just putting the bags together and distributing them with the other volunteers knowing that they are going to kids who don’t have a whole lot for Christmas means so much to me.”

Black shares her experience witnessing the surprise and gratitude that comes from the families involved on D-day. 

“Just seeing the emotions of the people when you hand them these bikes and all the bags for their kids is everything,” said Black. “I’ve even had some parents that have broken down and cried because they are so grateful, and that’s the part that is so memorable.” 

The Angel Tree children are all anonymously entered into the program, each and every one with a different story behind the list of wishes.

“We had a sweet mother come through last year whose child was going through his second round of chemo, and had no way to provide for Christmas because all of the family’s money was tied up in medical bills. We fulfilled almost everything he needed that accommodated his mobility issues,” Co-director Kristen Dewey said. “She couldn’t have been more grateful for us being able to provide for her family. Turns out, she was also a former student of one of our Co-directors. That moment really stood out to me throughout my time working with the program.” 

To learn more about the Angel Tree program and how to give back up until Christmas Day, visit the North Texas Salvation Army Angel Tree website, https://salvationarmyntx.org/north-texas/angel-tree/, as well as https://salvationarmyntx.org/north-texas/ to find ways to donate to your community all-year round.