Year 40 of the Family and Children’s Services OPP Angel Tree Kicks Off

Press Release – Ontario Provincial Police

It’s year 40 for the Angel Tree program in Lanark County and the surrounding area.

This year, the Family and Children’s Services of Lanark, Leeds and Grenville / Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Angel Tree program is starting off with a record 1,015 angels! The “angels,” assigned to trees, represent children directly affiliated with Family and Children’s Services and related programs. The goal is to provide a Christmas gift for each child. There will also be a selection of tags as an option of purchasing a gift card for a teen or groceries for a family.

The municipal offices of Mississippi Mills, Tay Valley, Lanark Highlands, Drummond-North Elmsley, Montague, Beckwith and the Pakenham Branch of the Mississippi Mills Public Library have been supporting the program since the beginning and are participating once again. We thank those employees who continue to monitor the trees and assist with the dispersal of the angels into the communities.

Our community partners this year in Perth are Albany, Eaton, Lanark County Administration, Wilson Street Auto Fleet & Tire, Spring Children, Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital – Great War Memorial Site, Perth Athletic Centre, Lanark Dance Company, Perth Town Hall, Perth Home Hardware and Uniglass Plus.

In Carleton Place, the community partners are Kirk Orthodontics, Walmart, ConnectWell, The Studio School of Dance and Heritage Dental. These community partners broaden the dispersal of angels within their workspaces and are a great assistance to our program.

In Almonte, the community partners are Almonte Chiropractic and Carebridge Community Support. There will also be a Gift Card Tree in Almonte at the Carebridge Community Support building.

In Smiths Falls, OPP East Region Headquarters continues to conduct an internal distribution of angels to OPP employees. Rideau Home Hardware and 2 Guys for Lunch will be our community partners.

A special thanks to the U12 Rep B Perth Lanark Wings hockey team and parents. They tield all 1,015 tags for the Angel Trees. They did fantastic and were a very big help.

We are certain that this year’s goal will be met. Effective Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Angel Trees bearing Angel Cards will be available at the above locations for anyone wishing to select an angel. We appreciate the support more than ever this year.

Gifts (preferably unwrapped or in a gift bag) should be returned to the tree before Monday, December 8, 2025. Ensure the Angel Card is affixed to the gift AND that the gift contents are printed on the back of the card.

Donations of money and items of new clothing/toys are gratefully accepted. Lanark County OPP will be collecting from all of the locations on December 9 and 10 and will be delivering them to Family and Children’s Services for distribution.

We thank everyone for participating. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!