MOULTRIE — Hope House is sponsoring its second annual Angel Tree Project to provide Christmas gifts for children ages 16 and younger. The program is open to children whose applications are carefully screened and approved by the Hope House.

The official Hope House Angel Tree is located at the Hope House Thrift Shop at 704 Fifth Ave. S.E. Angels can be purchased for $5 each until Monday, Dec. 15. Hope House is coordinating with the Children’s Cheer and Toy Shop, Serenity House and Department of Family and Children’s Services in the project, a Hope House spokesperson said.

The program started last year after an employee had the desire to help a badly-burned 4-year-old girl who came into the Hope House thrift shop. Hope House helped 36 families to have Christmas last year through the project, the spokesperson said.

Each angel helps to purchase items from the approved applicant’s Christmas wish list. The more angels that are purchased, the more applicants that can be provided with Christmas gifts.

If a church, organization, or business is interested in purchasing angels, please let the Hope House know. Applications are available to purchase the angels from Hope House to set-up an Angel Tree at any interested church, business or other organization.

For confidentiality reasons, Hope House does not give out the names of the children who receive gifts. Each child will receive three gifts, and each wrapped package will consist of a combination of wish list toy items and clothing items. The deadline to apply to be an Angel Tree Child is Monday, Nov. 24, and applications are available at the Hope House.

Each applicant is required to list clothing sizes and needs, along with a couple of toy items that they “wish” they could get. Each item costs more than the $5 angel that can be purchased, the Hope House spokesperson said, but the charity wants to make it affordable enough for people to be able to give $5 or $500, whatever best meets their budget.

The gifts will all be distributed at a 2008 Angel Tree Christmas Party on Monday, Dec. 22. Each approved applicant that gifts are purchased for will be contacted and invited to the party with their parents.

The number of approved applicants that are able to receive Christmas gifts will be determined by the amount of money raised through the Angel Tree Project. For more information, please contact the Hope House at 985-4673.