Christmas Angels step up to fill 79 Angels from the Salvation Army Angel Tree

An unexpected turn of events has touched the annual Patchy’s Red, White, & Blue Christmas Toy Drive after a village stepped up to ensure children in the Kewanee area received Christmas presents. Volunteers were overjoyed when a shopper at Walmart promised to buy gifts for 79 children from the Angel Tree, prompting the AW Titan cheerleaders to spend hours carefully selecting toys and clothes from the wishlist cards. However, when it came time to pay, the donor disappeared without a word. Despite the setback, Walmart employees rallied, covering the cost of 39 tags themselves, and the remainder was funded after Nancy Sutton became aware of the incident. The team remains grateful and inspired by the community’s generosity in making holiday wishes come true. The story doesn’t end here….

Amber Patch-Troxell posted on Facebook, “Welllll here goes nothing…. We’ve kind of been holding onto this information for a little over a week with hopes that something good would happen…. But it hasn’t well kind of and we like to be very transparent when it come to everything we do for the angel tree/toy drive. As you all know a gentleman had gone into Walmart and said he wanted to buy all of the tags that we had on the tree that day. There were 79 tags. Walmart called me and told me and Heather and I were in tears and overjoyed at the generosity…. The AW Titan cheerleaders went out that night and shopped for the tags…. Those amazing young ladies spent 3.5 hours on a Saturday night shopping for the angel tree and we are so grateful for their help. Before they shopped I had Walmart call and ask if we needed to stick to a budget. Heather and I are champs when comes to stretching a dollar! We were told no budget! So Monday Walmart rang up all the merchandise which took almost 6 hours!! Called the gentleman to tell him the total… I’m sure you guys see where this is going… he no showed. Walmart stayed on top of contacting him all that week and they got crickets. So they called me and told me they were giving up and I don’t blame them!! I felt terrible for all the time wasted!! So the employees (man I love them) were so upset they started pitching in and calling friends and family. They ended up paying for 39 bags!! I cannot express how much I appreciate them for this! A few days later word was getting around and I got a call from Nancy J Sutton she heard about it and said tell them not to put the stuff back I will take care of the rest!! When I tell you Heather and I have had so many emotions this year… gesh! We appreciate every single person that contributes to this every year!! We could not do this without all of you! I am deeply saddened by the situation that occurred but we just have to trust in God and know that he will guide and provide!!! If you have any questions please contact myself or Heather Dana Patchy’s Red White & Blue Christmas Toy Drive”

A heartwarming moment unfolded during this year’s toy drive as the story of the so-called “Walmart angel” gained another chapter. Just minutes before distribution began, a volunteer alerted organizers Amber and Heather that someone was waiting at the back door. They were greeted by a man with a cash donation—an effort to make up for previous plans gone awry. Touched by his sincerity and generosity, both organizers were moved to tears. Thanks to this unexpected gift, the toy drive now holds a strong early balance for next year, ensuring more children will experience holiday joy in the future.

Amber Patch-Troxell posted an update on her Facebook: “Now that I’m home after whirlwind weekend I wanted to give a toy drive update… so the story of the Walmart angel continues… on Thursday about 10 minutes before we started distribution… one of the volunteers came down and said hey some guy is at the back door for you and Heather Dana… strange but ok… we go up to the back door and there he was… with a cash donation. He was very apologetic and had the best intentions in his heart but things didn’t work out like he planned… but he wanted to make it right!! Heather and I again were brought to tears!! We now have a great head start for next year!! Thank you to what we call the Walmart angel 🥰”