‘It can change someone’s life’: Past Angel Tree recipient inspired to help others

Matthews resident Elizabeth McNiel wants people to know that giving to the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program changes lives. It did for her.

Six years ago, McNiel applied for the Christmas program that provides gifts for families in need after she said she lost everything fighting for custody of three of her grandchildren. Christmas is supposed to be the best day of the year, she said at the time, and that’s what she wanted for her grandkids.

“I was really not seeing a way out at that point. I didn’t have any support system,” McNiel said in a recent interview with the Observer.

The Angel Tree program lifted “the weight of the world” off from her, she said.

At the time, McNiel was working two jobs to support her family that included the grandchildren then ages 2, 3 and 7, and two teen sons. She had dropped out of nursing school, got evicted and lost her car, The Observer reported at the time. They’d just moved from a Grier Heights duplex into a three-bedroom Matthews home but didn’t have furniture to fill it.

After signing up for the Christmas program, McNeil said the response was overwhelming. All of the Angel Tree gifts, hidden behind the curtain of the garden tub, piled up to the ceiling.

“We received so much love, support, gifts for the kids and even much needed beds and other furniture,” McNeil said. “I want them (donors) to know they changed my life. They should know how much joy they brought me. It was simply amazing.”

Angel Tree program and Empty Stocking Fund

Over 8,500 children, seniors and people with disabilities will receive gifts through funds from the Empty Stocking Fund.

This year, that includes over 6,800 children from 2,674 families who received toys and clothes through the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, which matches Mecklenburg and Union County children in need with anonymous donors who buy the gifts.

In cases where donors don’t step up, Charlotte Observer readers cover the expense by giving to the Empty Stocking Fund. Last year, Observer readers donated nearly $350,000 to the Empty Stocking Fund, which the Observer has sponsored since about 1920.

McNiel and her grandkids are among the Angel Tree sponsors this year. The grandchildren — Zyh’aire Surls, 8, Anthony Surls, 9, and E’onne Smith, 13 — each chose a child to sponsor and picked out their gifts.

“Now that my grandkids are older, I want them to understand they are very blessed and it wasn’t always like that,” McNiel said.

Giving, she said, “It can change someone’s life.”

‘A lot of joy’

A couple of years after McNiel received help, she started her own roofing company called MCL Roofing.

“Through hard work and the grace of God I am now in a much better place financially,” she said. “I hope my story can inspire others to know that their situation is just a stepping stone to what God has planned.”

McNeil still has much of the furniture people gave the family after the Angel Tree article ran in the Observer, like the bedroom suite and linens.

“I don’t let anyone else touch them,” McNiel said. “I won’t part with that stuff that’s how much it means to me.”

The table and living room furniture have been passed on to her children, but the grandchildren still use the Kindles and tablets they received on Christmas Day six years ago.

“It’s so much deeper than a smile on Christmas morning,” McNeil said. “It was Christmas every day from that day forward. It brought a lot of joy to everyone.”

McNeil got choked up talking about the gift of makeup Clean Juice Co. gave her, along with the Angel Tree gifts for the grandchildren.

“I just remember the way it made me feel. It gave me a boost and gave me so much confidence,” she said. “It meant everything.”

And for her neighbors in the Charlotte community struggling this year, McNiel has a message:

“I remember that feeling and crying and having to push myself when I felt like laying down and giving up,” she said. “Just keep pushing forward and give it all you have, you can turn it around no matter how bad it seems. And don’t be scared to ask for help.”

How to donate

To donate online: EmptyStockingFundCLT.org.

To donate by mail, send checks to: The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte, P.O. Box 31128, Charlotte, NC 28231. Make checks payable to The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte and write “Empty Stocking Fund” in the memo line.

Questions concerning your donation? Call 704-716-2769.

We’ll publish all donors’ names.

This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 6:00 AM.