I thought you guys may be interested in reading about a REAL LIFE Christmas story, complete with a Scroogess and some (ongoing) happy miracles being fulfilled towards the end!
Background: 
You guys probably know there are several charities collecting toys, coats, etc., for kids or seniors struggling with financial hardship, especially at this time of the year, many of the charities local, and some national. One of the big national toy & clothing drives is by The Salvation Army. In addition to their buckets with a Santa ringing a bell at various corners, The SA also has a program called their
Angel Tree Program where some SA sites partner up with a local
Walmart to have an angel tree set up at those stores.
The program has been around for years.
View attachment 1031135
There are certain rules for applying and being accepted to receive donations. They are scrupulously checked to prevent fraud and that these people are really in need. Each applicant is encouraged to request on their angel tree tag
specific toy(s) and an item of clothing. (They provide the gender, size & color preference.)
There are certain rules/requests for the people fulfilling the angel tree tag requests. The first request is to please donate a
minimum of $30 in items. (If one cannot do this, there are PLENTY of other charities, like Toys For Tots, with no specific amount or specific toys required.)
The second angel tree tag rule/request is to
fulfill the wishes exactly as possible to what the person specifically requested. Meaning, if a child requested a
Lego set (which can run $50+ depending how complex, do NOT take that angel tree tag and just donate a bunch of dollar store coloring books and crayons and think that is acceptable.
ALL the angel tree tags are easily readable ahead of time on each tree. So one can CHOOSE which tag one would like to fulfill, if at all. Some children/teens ask for high priced items that many people can't fulfill. (The kids don't know the price of things.)
Onto the Scroogess: We all know social media influencers get an idea for a topic and post about it to get views. Since they're monetized, they get money for a lot of subscribers, followers, views, likes and comments.
A little over a month ago, the husband of an influencer came up with the idea to get two angel tree kids to buy & donate items for. The influencer ran with the idea of filming herself buying the toys. They picked a boy and a girl, even though she says they are "boy parents."
She tells everyone about the $30 minimum and goes down the Barbie doll aisle, even though the angel girl had specifically asked for
different dolls. She picks out a cheap $10 doll and 3 other items, and at one point says how if her items equal about $25, with tax the TOTAL will be $30. It suddenly wasn't a minimum, but a maximum.
The husband Googles the specific doll, finds the picture and the dolls at the store. The dolls are $3
4 each, with tax about $38.
The influencer says to him, wouldn't the girl want 4 items instead of getting just one item? He says, it's the one she ASKED for. The influencer still decides to get the (cheaper) 4 items instead. She has no problem getting the boy what he wants.
After she posted the shopping trip, her post went viral as people were slamming her for NOT getting the toy the girl asked for. People begged her to please put the angel tag back if she wasn't going to get the toy the girl wants, so someone else can fulfill her wish. Other influencers posted their own posts & videos
about this influencer, saying she's an, "Angel tree gone wrong!"
She got so much flack and push back that she ended up, first changing her screenname to something else. When that didn't work, she deleted all her posts and eventually deactivated her account.
(This is not necessary to the rest of the story. You can move on to The Miracles.) IF you are interested in seeing her. Here is a video of someone who copied and posted some of what the influencer posted. Don't worry, the original influencer isn't making a cent off this video.
Unfortunately, we still don't know about the angel tree girl. Comments by some volunteers who work various Angel Tree programs say the SA will likely get her the doll themselves from cash donation funds they receive. EACH angel tree bag is checked before it goes onto the recipient and they try to fulfill them with the right item. (They can't always do a really expensive item, but they try with the smaller items the kids also asked for.)
The Miracles: 
Sometimes, a social media post going "viral" is a good thing. It alerts us to something we didn't know about. It allows people to take their action and turn things around. Some are able to make something new a positive trend.
ALL of THIS is exactly what has been happening.
While many other influencers, particularly those with over 100K followers of their own, watched that "How not to be" video, they learned about donating with Angel Tree. They wanted to film their own shopping trips done the RIGHT way. The generous, caring way. They have turned this in an "Angel Tree trend." Not only are they doing the tags, many viewers, now, are doing them too. Some people have reported the trees in their areas are empty of tags by the time they get to a tree!
Since many of the influencers are in a position to be more generous, they pick tags with higher priced items
and do multiple trips. Many say, "I'm using the money I got from you from my last video to do more angel trees." They pick multiple tags each trip!
EXAMPLES:
When a child asks for a bike, not only do they get a bike, they also get them a helmet and bike pump (that the kid didn't know they will need.) When they ask for a jacket or coat, some influencers will often
also get the size up in a different color/style, so they have one to grow into. When a kid asks for a top, the influencers buy full outfits, complete with a package of undies, socks and shoes, if the shoe size was included.
A teen female asked for makeup. An influencer who is really girlie herself, went to Sephora and bought a few gift packs of makeup, perfumes, scented soaps and candles.
A couple teens asked for a tablet or computer, and they each got one.
Tags for seniors were picked. They usually only ask for a few essentials.
Not only did the seniors get a blanket they asked for, they also got a bed set and some pillows. One wanted only pajamas, she got slippers along with new sets of pajamas AND a robe. Some of the men got comfy sweatshirt hoodie with pants sets. ALL got an assortment of much needed self care, hygiene items they requested and multi-packs of toothbrushes. (The kids got them too.)
There have been some comments berated the influencers saying real generosity shouldn't be boasted about and done on camera to show off and for clicks. I understand where they are coming from.
But, for me, since I know they are making money off of my clicks and likes, it's actually nice, vicariously going on the shopping trips with them to see how the little bit of money from me helps them do good in the world.
The shopping trips are fun for me. And I can tell they are having a blast being able to spend money in a way that will actually make someone else's day.
And there have been many comments in the posts by people who had been past recipients of Angel Trees when they were children. They said it really changed or influenced them. Something they have never forgotten. It was about more than the gifts. They learned that strangers they didn't even know cared about them. And that has stayed with them for a lifetime. 
Here is Serena Neel, my favorite influencer doing the Angel Tree donations. Back, during the government shutdown, she had already donated 100 pizzas to her city's 10 firehouses. Another time she donated 1000 Campbell soup cans and 1700 ramen noodle bowls to food pantries. So, she was already generously giving back
before she found out about the Angel Trees.
When she "adopts" kids for the Angel Tree, she calls them HER kids:
Buying 3 bikes for kids, because she can!
I agree that it is nice to see influencers who use their good fortune to help others. I admit that it does *influence* me whether I click on their latest videos or not.
