This holiday season, good corporate citizens are needed to make wishes come true for the 3,200 Broward County children living below the poverty level.

The Salvation Army of Broward County is seeking businesses, churches, schools and other organizations to participate in its corporate Angel Tree program. Participants pick an Angel card (or more) and anonymously ``adopt'' a child, providing a holiday gift.

Many are familiar with the Salvation Army's Angel Trees that go up in area malls Dec. 2. What people may not realize is that the majority of the children the Salvation Army helps, about 70 percent, are provided for by companies and organizations that participate in the corporate program, said Sally Gress, director of development for the Salvation Army of Broward County.

``A company decides how many angels to take,'' she said. ``Sometimes they'll set up a tree, or maybe they'll give the angels out through their human resources department.''

After the angels are distributed, individuals will have about a month to buy gifts for their ``adopted'' child before the gifts are given to the Salvation Army to distribute to the families.

``It's a great team-building exercise and it really gets people in the Christmas spirit,'' Gress said. ``Some companies have done it for years and years. They say it wouldn't be Christmas without the Angel Tree program.''

About 80 companies have signed up so far, about 20 percent less than last year, Gress said.

``We're a little behind this year, because of a few reasons. One of our major companies moved out of the area, and a couple of businesses decided they just can't do it this year,'' she said.

The depressed economy also means that the need is greater.

``This year, over 50 percent of our applicants are new and have never come to us before,'' Gress said. ``It's because of the economy. A lot of people have lost their jobs.''

The Salvation Army works with 35 Broward social service agencies that are charged with identifying the neediest residents. Income and the number of children are verified for the approximately 1,800 families that are accepted for the program.

``We have a certain number of spots to fill, and we leave it up to the agencies to decide,'' Gress said.

The program is aimed at helping the working poor, and a family can receive help for up to five years, she said.

The prescreened families are turned over to the Salvation Army, which interviews each one. Information about each child, including their first name, age, clothing sizes and a ``dream gift'' not to exceed $50 is collected to put on each angel card.

Gress said when a donor selects an angel card, they are not obligated to purchase a specific gift. ``We're grateful for whatever people can donate,'' she said.

The Salvation Army requests that gifts be turned in unwrapped so volunteers can make sure children are receiving appropriate items and that each child in a family receives an equitable amount. Children whose angel cards are not returned are given gifts from toy drives and from ``forgotten angel'' cards that allow donors to supply gifts for kids who haven't been sponsored.

The gifts are distributed to families Dec. 17-18.

``The parents get them a couple of days before Christmas, so they can go home and wrap them,'' Gress said. ``That way, the kids will think the gifts are from their parents or from Santa and not from charity, which is important for the kids.''

Helping to fund the program are about 200 Salvation Army bell ringers, who can be seen at 34 kettles around Broward, Gress said. The fundraising goal is $225,000 to assist the Angel Tree program and for holiday meals at the Salvation Army's residential shelters. Anything left over supports the Salvation Army's regular programs, including a shelter for 20 families with children, a residential program for 80 adults, character-building programs for kids, senior recreation programs, a food pantry and disaster assistance.

Gress said the Angel Tree program makes a real difference in the lives of poverty-level families, like those she interviewed this year.

``This lady who had five kids thanked me so profusely. She had tears in her eyes and she said, `This is the first year my kids will have a real Christmas,' '' Gress said. ``She was so grateful. It made it all worth it.''

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