AKRON — Anyone looking for a way to give back this Christmas season can sponsor a family in need within the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation through the Miracle Tree program.

Miracle Tree has been a holiday tradition in the Rochester community for more than a decade thanks to the Mill Creek Missionary Church, but because of an increase in the number of people from the Tippecanoe Valley area seeking assistance, the decision was made to expand the program, according to a news release from the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation.

Beginning Saturday, Nov. 9, trees were set up at Bell Memorial Public Library in Mentone and also Akron Carnegie Public Library in Akron. Families throughout the Tippecanoe Valley community who have expressed an interest in receiving help this year will be assigned a number. Those numbers will then be placed on ornaments and hung on the trees. The number lets a potential sponsor know how many children are in the family and their ages.

“Each family will have a wish list for the sponsors to use when shopping, filled with clothing sizes and toys requested,” said Darren Parker, a former instructor at Tippecanoe Valley High School and a member of Mill Creek Missionary Church.

If a person, business or organization is interested in sponsoring a family, they can take an ornament from the tree and give it to the circulation desk at either library. The sponsor is then provided a wish list for that family with items the children might want for Christmas.

Sponsors wrap the gifts they purchase and then return them to Splendor Boats in Silver Lake for sorting and delivery. To avoid any confusion, there are specific instructions on each wish list on how to mark the gift after it has been wrapped so organizers know which gift belongs to which family and child.

Gifts must be returned by Friday, Dec. 6. Gifts will be distributed to each family on a special night in December. The church will cater a meal, provide activities for the children and take family pictures.

The Miracle Tree assisted over 125 families, provided Christmas gifts for more than 350 children, and fed more than 550 people at the culminating event night in 2018.