Whidbey Island Angels host gift program

Parents can stop by Whidbey Island Angels’ pop-up holiday event and find last-minute gifts for kids.

Parents and guardians can stop by Whidbey Island Angels’ pop-up holiday event this Saturday and find a last-minute gift for the kid in their lives.

The grassroots organization is opening its Christmas program to the public from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the former Gordon’s on Blueberry Hill restaurant building in Freeland. Gift choosers can select from a wide array of toys and make a donation in return to Whidbey Island Angels, which runs a resource center.

Community members of modest means, however, will get first dibs on choosing gifts earlier this week. Organizers for the program have a list of people who are signed up to pick out gifts free of charge. Whidbey Island Angels coordinates with other free gift-giving programs, such as Holiday House, to make certain no one is double-dipping.

According to organizer Cindy Buchanan, this is Whidbey Island Angels’ fourth year running the gift program. Last year, it served a total of 850 kids.

The toys available vary, from books to games to stuffed animals. Several local contractors and trucking companies donated their time and labor to haul the gifts over to Whidbey Island Angels this year. Kids between the ages of 1 and 18 are served by the program.