The nonprofit organization Asa’s Angels needs a lot help during the next week to finish 2023 Christmas shopping for eligible children in Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties.
To be more specific, Asa’s Angels has set a goal this year of buying about 15,000 Christmas gifts for 1,600 children in need. Those presents are provided through Asa’s Angels’ annual Christmas Outreach Drive.
Asa’s Angels is hoping to wrap up its annual collection of new Christmas gifts on Dec. 12. Asa Cox, who founded the organization 17 years ago and still plays a pivotal role in its operation, said she’s hoping to see a big increase in gift donations as that deadline nears.
“We probably have about 2,000 gifts,” she said on Dec. 5. “So we’re about 13,000 short of our goal.”
In addition, she said only about 40 of the 1,600 children had been adopted as of Dec. 5 by people or organizations who pledge to purchase gifts on a child’s wish list.
Tough economic conditions are a big reason why donations of gifts have been coming in slowly to Asa’s Angels so far this Christmas season, Cox said.
“Food costs are so high for these families — that and gas,” she said. “It takes everything they can just for their paycheck to walk in a grocery store with five kids. People just are really struggling out there.”
Asa’s Angels strives to provide at least eight new gifts to each child in need who applies and qualifies for assistance.
An Asa’s Angels representative will interview the legal parent or guardian of each child listed in an application. The parent or guardian must provide documentation such as a photo ID, pay stubs, bank statements and tax returns, along with a child’s birth certificate or Social Security card.
Asa’s Angels also checks with other charitable organizations to be sure a child isn’t signed up for similar holiday assistance programs.
Cox, who’s a well-known local Realtor and owner of a real-estate agency, was inspired to launch Asa’s Angels because of the lifestyle she had as a child.
“I grew up very poor,” she said. “I had no new stuff for Christmas; my Christmases were always used stuff. So that’s why I wanted to give back, because I want the kids to have new stuff on Christmas morning.”
Asa’s Angels delivered around 57 Christmas gifts to children in its first year.
For most of the organization’s history, Asa’s Angels was based at 2709 North Ridge Road in Perry Township. The charity was situated in an office alongside Cox’s business, Century 21 Asa Cox Homes.
However, in September, Asa’s Angels moved to a new headquarters in a plaza at 6656 North Ridge Road in Madison Township. The organization has settled into a former retail store that contains about 9,000 square feet of space, versus 1,200 square feet at the Perry Township site.
Cox is pleased that the new headquarters has a much larger storage room for gifts. But she pointed out to a visitor on Dec. 5 that there were still many empty or sparsely filled containers and shelves intended for 2023 Christmas gifts to be distributed by Asa’s Angel’s.
“It looks like a lot, but it’s nowhere near 15,000 gifts,” she said.
She noted that many boys who filled out Asa’s Angel’s Christmas wish lists asked for boots and shoes in 2023.
Asa’s Angel’s been has asked to provide 87 pairs of boots and shoes for boys in men’s sizes, she said. But as Dec. 5, there were zero pairs in that size range.
In addition, Asa’s Angels received wish lists seeking newborn clothing for 30 boys and 26 girls.
“And I probably have four items back here for them,” Cox said.
Many of the children’s wish lists for 2023 have been filled in with essential items, such as boots, coats and underwear, she added.
In addition, Cox said 136 children have asked for new beds this Christmas. One of those requests came from a 12-year-old, who explained her desire in a letter to Santa that accompanied her wish list.
“She asked for one bed for her, her sister and her mom to sleep in together, because right now they sleep on the floor,” Cox said. “And she wants a pink headboard for the bed.”
There are a variety of ways in which people can help Asa’s Angels to fulfill children’s Christmas wishes:
• Adopt a child by claiming their “angel tags” that are posted on Asa’s Angels Facebook page, or displayed at businesses and organizations that are serving as holiday partners and sponsors for the Christmas Outreach Program. A list of those partners and sponsors can be found on the Asa’s Angels website.
Once a tag is selected, it will be removed from Facebook or on-site displays to avoid duplication.
• Donate new gifts by dropping them off at Asa’s Angels headquarters at 6656 North Ridge Road in Madison Township; or at any of the businesses or organizations serving as program holiday sponsors or partners.
• Purchase a gift and ship it through the Asa’s Angel’s Christmas 2023 Amazon wish list. That list can be accessed through Asa’s Angels’ website.
• Make a monetary donation to Asa’s Angels’ Christmas Outreach Drive.
“We have shoppers go out and get certain items for kids’ wish lists that aren’t donated directly,” Cox said.
She noted that the organization’s shoppers always look for bargains and discounts.
“When we get a dollar, it goes a long way with us,” she said.
Besides the Christmas for Kids Outreach Drive, Asa’s Angels also helps children in by conducting an annual Easter Basket Drive, and joins with the Lake County Salvation Army each summer to distribute back-to-school supplies.
Along with the programs connected to specific holidays, the charity also provides general assistance at any time for people in hardship situations — such as a family losing their home to a fire, or a person transitioning from being homeless to securing an apartment.
For these kinds of scenarios, Asa’s Angels will attempt to supply a person in need with items such as beds, bedding, appliances or dishes.
“We help people on a daily basis 365 days a year,” Cox said.
