Cochise County employees filled the Christmas gift wish lists of 18 local children this holiday through the county's Angel Tree program. 

The Angel Tree program, which has been sponsored by Cochise County Housing Authority staff for over a decade, helps low income families to provide gifts for their children.

“We ask the families to tell us what their children would like or need for Christmas and then we email County employees and ask for their help,” Cochise County Housing Specialist Mariela Maldonado said in a press release. “We’ve all had the opportunity to deliver to the families, and to see the children’s faces is just heartwarming."

This year, the staff provided 18 children age 12 and under with gifts such as toys and clothes, which the staff delivered the week before Christmas.

“It’s especially great for the parents," Family Self-Sufficiency coordinator Edelina Duron said in a statement. "Some of them work really hard and struggle to make ends meet. That little bit of help eases the stress for them.”

The Cochise County Housing Authority provides rent assistance to over 500 low income families in Cochise and Graham Counties through a federal funded grant. The families also have the opportunity to join the program which involves setting a five-year housing needs goal of becoming self-dependent.