ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — For the eighth year in a row, a Christmas tree filled with the gifts wishes of local students has been put up in the Anderson County Courthouse.

The students range in age from pre-kindergarten to high school. Leean Tupper, the administrative assistant to Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, works with school guidance counselors each year to gather the information for the tree.

“I want to thank Leean and the wonderful folks in our Anderson County school system for working together to identify children in our community who are our ‘angels’ on the tree,” Mayor Frank said. “The Angel Tree gives us an opportunity to share love, kindness — and make a child’s Christmas extra special.”

Fewer than a dozen wish lists remain on the tree because so many were taken by employees and community members on Friday when the tree was first put up. This is why Anderson County is working to find additional students to add to the tree.

All gifts must be returned to the County Mayor’s Office by Tuesday, December 14th at 5 p.m. The gifts should be wrapped and tagged with the child’s ID number and they should be bagged or boxed together. The gifts will be delivered on December 15 and 16 just before the school system’s Christmas break begins.

The county’s Buildings and Grounds team help to put up and decorate the tree each year. The county adds that they are instrumental in the gathering of the packages before they are delivered to the schools. “We couldn’t do what we do without them,” Tupper said.