The countdown to the holiday season is on, but for the Salvation Army of North Texas, the planning started months ago.

“We started in September,” Salvation Army of North Texas Area Commander Carolynn Webb said. “The community is just so giving here in North Texas.”

That giving will be key, with more than 35,000 angels signed up for the annual Angel Tree campaign, now the largest Salvation Army Angel Tree campaign in the country.

“The economy, and maybe the shutdown, all combined, our numbers are a little more than usual,” Webb said. “So we helped as many as we can, and so now we need you, the public, to help us and meet the needs of all these wonderful children and seniors for Christmas.”

“I remember the wish I got,” Salvation Army of North Texas Captain Maxie DeBlanc said. “It was a tape recorder.”

DeBlanc and her siblings were on the receiving end of the Angel Tree campaign when she was 15, and her younger sister was terminally ill. The gifts came during what would be her sister’s last Christmas.

“It gave me peace, actually, because I was concerned about Christmas that year. I really was,” DeBlanc said. “Behind every one of those tags is a precious soul, waiting to be encountered with hope and there will be some joy placed inside of their hearts because of your generosity so please, by all means, if you can, give.”

The adopted angels are children and seniors. Their listed wishes and needs often include shoes, bedding, coats and winter clothing.

“How are we gonna meet that need?” Webb said. “But I am seeing every day the phone is ringing, people wanting to adopt children, and businesses and corporations are wanting to adopt children and coming alongside us and meeting that need.”

“They are the army behind the Army making that impact,” DeBlanc said. “The impact isn’t just for that child in that moment; it’s a generational impact, because now my children are involved with the Salvation Army, and now they adopt an angel every year.”

Online adoptions are open now. Salvation Army Angel Trees will go up in malls across North Texas on Friday for those who wish to choose an angel in person.