Angels look out for MUSD families

But the trio who portrayed the crime-fighting "Charlie's Angels" in the 1970s might be proud to share the name of their TV show with the school's "Charlie's Angels" program, in which students raise thousands of dollars each year to provide a good holiday for needy families in the Marana Unified School District.

Months of fundraising culminate in a big shopping trip at Walmart - usually the one at Arizona Pavilions in Marana. Dozens of school employees, students and their families are each assigned one person to shop for until all members of every low-income family have been taken care of.

This year's trip happened Dec. 15 at the Walmart behind Foothills Mall - moved this year due to a scheduling conflict with the Marana Walmart.

The middle-schoolers and their supporters fanned out through the store, each with an envelope with a pseudonym on it as well as the person's gender, age, clothing sizes and gift ideas.

Organizer Robin Houck-Bell carefully encodes the true identities of all the people the program helps, so the students never figure out for whom they're shopping.

The program began about 15 years ago, when a teacher at the school asked her students to raise money to help someone at Christmas. They raised $50 and helped one student. The program was dubbed "Angel Kids" and turned into an annual fundraising and shopping event.

After that, school secretary Charlie Younger took on the task of identifying district families in need and helping distribute whatever the middle school kids raised for them. She'd load her motor home with packages to make the deliveries.

Younger died in 2005, and that year the school renamed the program "Charlie's Angels" in her honor.

Last week, Bailey Davis and Emily Bullock, both 14, eagerly hit the clothing aisles at Walmart in search of goods for a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl.

"Let's look at sale stuff so then we can get more," Bullock said.

The girls quickly realized it's hard to choose clothing for someone they don't know, even if they're about the same age.

"We can't buy the same stuff!" Davis exclaimed.

Bullock held up a pair of jeans with a shirt that had a design on the front.

"This would look cute, right?" she asked. "I would wear it."

In short order, the store seemed to be full of people carrying the signature envelopes with Charlie's Angels information on them.

Todd Johnson, who teaches seventh-grade language arts at the school, shopped with daughter Kaitlyn, 12.

The pair had already shopped for a 13-year-old boy, checked out and went back for a new assignment, this time a 13-year-old girl.

Johnson said they'd make another round if there were still names left when they finished the second shopping trip.

Younger's daughter, Melissa Insalaco, was there with her husband, Carmelo, and their two children, Kortnie, 11, and CJ, 13.

From the time her mother started working at Marana Middle School, where she worked for 25 years, "all the kids who were less fortunate, it was like she took them under her wing," Melissa Insalaco said.

Younger grew up with adopted siblings, and giving was in her spirit, Carmelo Insalaco said.

When Younger died and the school renamed the program for her, it was very emotional for the family, her daughter said.

She used to help her mother deliver goods for about a week after the big shopping trip, she said.

Kortnie doesn't remember a lot about shopping with her grandmother, but CJ said he does.

"It was fun," he said. "It was a lot of work. She picked every single kid" to help.

The money for the shopping trip comes from a variety of sources, said school Principal Allison Murphy.

Among the efforts this year were a jewelry sale and choir concert, and in the mornings some of the kids sold doughnuts and hot chocolate, she said.

They raised $9,894 for Charlie's Angels this year, enough to help 40 families. The actual amount per family varies depending on family size and the age of the children.

Very small children get about $50 worth of goodies, while tweens are allocated $75 and teenagers get $100 worth.

The lessons of the recession aren't lost on the young shoppers.

Carlee Stamps, 13, and Jaylyn Acuna, 12, were excited to participate when they found out about Charlie's Angels, they said.

Acuna found it difficult to shop for a 17-year-old, she said, but Stamps said she had an easier time with her assignment because her sister is about the same age as the girl she shopped for.

"I like to give back to the kids in our community who can't afford stuff this season because of the economy," Stamps said.

Contact reporter Shelley Shelton at sshelton@azstarnet.com or 807-8464.