La Joya seeks community’s help in decorating angel tree

La Joya residents and members of the public going to city hall are invited to help decorate the Christmas tree in the public utility department of the building.

Last week, the city of La Joya began accepting donations for their Angel Christmas tree, which city Administrator Jaqueline Bazan said she hopes would become a new holiday tradition for the city.

The Angel Tree at the La Joya Public Utility Department.

“This is the first time the city has done this and we’d like to see it be a continued tradition from here on annually,” Bazan said. “We’re excited, it’s our first new projects this year for the holiday season and are excited to do this for the children.”

The angel tree involves members of the community purchasing a papier-mâché angel to decorate the tree at city hall for a minimum of 50 cents. Proceeds will benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital and runs through Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. The city plans to match every donation raised, Bazan said.

“It’s a project to give back to children and family members that are going through medical issues,” Bazan explained. “There’s so many children out there in all communities like this so we decided to partner with a foundation dedicated to researching and curing child diseases. A lot of our children from the Valley are diagnosed with diseases and sent there. This project is one that lets us be able to give back to those in need and allows the community to do the same.”

The city will announce the donation totals during a January city commissioners meeting and will send St. Jude a check afterward. Bazan said participating in the angel tree donation represents the spirit of the holiday season.
“We’d like to start special projects that show that not only are we providing services to the community, but we’re giving back,” Bazan said.

This article originally appeared in the Friday Dec. 6, 2019 issue of the Progress Times.