Although Christmas is more than a month away, there are trees in the county that have already been decorated.

As part of the Salvation Army's Treasures for Children program, trees have been adorned with tags that contain the names of needy children.

Persons interested in purchasing gifts for one or more of the children can take a name from one of the trees.

Included with the names is a list of what each child wants and the child's clothing size.

Donors can contribute as much or as little toward that child's Christmas as their pocketbooks dictate, said

Maj. Mary Carney,

who is coordinating this year's gift drive.

"Some people get one toy and a clothing item, others get (everything on the list)," she said.

Although most of the 14 businesses and groups that requested tree tags distributed the tags within their own organizations, some also display the trees so the public can participate.

Wal-Mart at the Butler Commons shopping center and the Outlook Pointe nursing home in Sarver are two such places.

Depending on the number of volunteers available to sort and distribute the gifts, the project can take weeks to complete, Carney said. For this reason, the deadline for submitting the gifts is Dec. 1.

As of Thursday, more than 500 recipient families were already signed up to receive gifts, Carney said. Last year's total exceeded 700 families, all of which were matched with donors.

Any person or group interested in sponsoring a child can receive a name by visiting one of the tree sites or by calling 724-287-5532.

TOYS FOR TOTS

, an annual gift drive sponsored by the Marine Corps. Reserve, also kicked off its campaign Nov. 5 by placing boxes at 75 donation sites in Butler County.

Through the help of volunteers, Toys for Tots collects and sorts the new, unwrapped toys that will be placed in the boxes through Dec. 15, said Bob Maranche, who coordinates the program in Butler County for the Bantam Marine Detachment 743.

Recipient names will be accepted through Dec. 10.

The toys will then be distributed to children whose names have been submitted to the group by groups or individuals.

Maranche said Toys for Tots provided gifts for 1,039 children last year. He expects more sign-ups this year, partially due to the flooding.

Despite the continued growth, Maranche said Toys for Tots has met all requests for toys in past years, although the number of toys per child varies according to the ratio of requests to donations. Last year each recipient received five gifts.

Maranche also said the drop sites have increased from 65 to 75 this year.

For information on Toys for Tots, call Maranche at 724-865-9852.