Members of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania community participated in the 2019 Angels' Wings program, a community program created to provide Christmas gifts for needy families and children, elderly individuals, and physically or mentally challenged people in the Indiana area.
The program, entirely voluntary, offers an opportunity for employees, students, or offices to choose a family or individual identified by the Angels' Wings program and to provide requested gifts for these families or individuals for Christmas.
From left, Career and Professional Development Career Development advocates Stecha Cott Mercado, a sophomore hospitality management major from Harrisburg, and Marlon Phillip, a senior finance and legal studies major from Palmer, Northampton County, with a portion of the gifts donated from the IUP community to the Angels' Wings program.
The Office of Service Learning in the IUP Career and Professional Development Center has coordinated the Angels' Wings program at IUP since 2015. More than 750 gifts have been donated in the past five years by IUP faculty, staff and students.
“Career Development Advocate Brianna Faber and Service Learning Coordinator Angela Martinelli and others in the IUP Career and Professional Development Center have worked diligently to support the Angels' Wings program, because we value making a positive difference in the lives of others through service to the community,” Career and Professional Development Center Director Tammy Manko said. “We had a terrific response this year with more than 100 gifts being donated by IUP faculty, staff, and students.”
The Angels' Wings program is sponsored by the Indiana Gazette newspaper and is coordinated through the Indiana County Community Action Program.