The Salvation Army of Washtenaw County has launched its annual holiday programs to help make Christmas merry for local less fortunate families, according to a news release.

The nonprofit is seeking donations for its Adopt-a-Family, Angel Tree and WAAM Toy Drive programs.

This year's Adopt-a-Family program will run Nov. 1 to Dec. 2. TSA-WC's goal is to secure enough participation to adopt 300 families. Any individual, family, business, school group, church or other organization can sponsor a local family in need.

Adopt-a-Family sponsors provide families with a Christmas dinner, gifts and clothing for children and household items. Adoptable families range in size from two to more than 10, and TSA-WC will match those interested based on support level and need. Sponsors can also choose to adopt a local senior citizen, according to the release.

TSA-WC's annual Angel Tree runs Nov. 1 to Dec. 9 and allows community members to select an angel tag with a local child's age, gender, size and suggested gift items. Angel Trees will be located at several area retailers including Briarwood Mall and K-Mart in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

All Angel Tree gifts should be returned unwrapped to the same Angel Tree location by Dec. 9. Gifts collected through this program are distributed to families who applied for Christmas assistance through TSAWC. Parents are invited to attend a toy shop, where they "shop" and pick out Christmas gifts for their children, according to TSA-WC.

For the fifth consecutive year, TSA-WC and WAAM Talk Radio 1600 have partnered to collect "1600 Toys for 1600 Girls and Boys." From Nov. 10 to Dec. 12 a variety of area businesses will display collection boxes for the community to donate new, unwrapped toys for children, newborn through 14 years.

Drop-off boxes can be found at stores such as USA Hockey in Ann Arbor, Tree Town Toys in Ann Arbor and K-Mart in Ypsilanti, among many others throughout Washtenaw County. Gifts and clothing for tweens and teens such as sports equipment or fashion accessories are especially needed, according to TSA-WC.

For more information on any of these programs, call 734-668-8353