Trees for Troops Brings Christmas Spirit to Military Families
What is Trees for Troops?
Trees for Troops, a program of the Christmas Spirit Foundation, provides free, farm-grown Christmas Trees to United States armed forces members in all branches of the military and their families, through donations, sponsorships, grants and the work of many volunteers.
Last holiday season, 16,599 trees were delivered to more 70 military bases in the U.S. and overseas. This brought the total to more than 225,319 Real Christmas Trees delivered through Trees for Troops since 2005.
“Trees for Troops is a very rewarding program to everyone involved,” said Richard Darling, Christmas Spirit Foundation chairman. “It is such an honor to have the opportunity to say thank you to our troops, and help ensure military families have the kind of joyful, traditional Christmas memories that we would wish for America’s heroes.”
Each year, hundreds of military families visit the Trees for Troops website and Facebook page to leave heartfelt thank you messages and pictures of their families celebrating around their beautifully decorated Christmas tree. For example, a message from a Camp Pendleton family read, “Thank you for our beautiful Christmas tree! We weren’t sure what we were going to do this year…Trees for Troops was an answer to our prayers.”
Trees For Troops Program Stats:
- For the past several years FedEx has helped to deliver, on average, 17,000 Real Christmas Trees to 70+ military bases throughout the U.S. and overseas. This year, our goal is to reach over 240,000 Christmas trees delivered since 2005.
- Approximately 200 trees are shipped overseas for troops in the Middle East and other countries; the rest are distributed to military families throughout the United States.
- The trees are provided by more than 400 Christmas tree growers and retailers in 29 states.
Military Families: Check with your MWR for Delivery Details!
The Trees for Troops program, sponsored by the Christmas Spirit Foundation and FedEx Corp., will be making a stop at military bases to deliver real Christmas trees to troops and military families.
If you are a military family in need of a tree this holiday season, please check with your Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR) officer or equivalent for details on delivery time, location, how to obtain a tree as each base has its own procedures.
Delivery dates for Christmas trees start in early December. You can find the delivery dates for selected bases this year on the program website. Please check on base for distribution details.
How Can I Get Involved?
- Buy a tree for a military family online and support the program through the One Thousand Tree Campaign. Go to Christmas Spirit Foundation website for details.
- Follow Trees for Troops on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and share our posts with your social networks.
- Donate funds online on the Christmas Spirit Foundation website. The Christmas Spirit Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and donations are tax deductible.
- Double your donation: some employers will match your charitable donations. Check with your company’s human resources department to see if your employer offers a charitable matching program.
- If you are a federal employee, select #12283 in the Combined Federal Campaign.
- When you purchase your family’s tree, ask your Christmas Tree retailer if they are involved in the program (look for “We Support Trees for Troops” signs). Many Christmas Tree retailers accept donations or provide other opportunities to support the program.
About Trees for Troops and the Christmas Spirit Foundation
The Christmas Spirit Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization that works to recognize and support the true spirit of Christmas for U.S. troops through the Trees for Troops® program. The foundation was established in 2005 as the charitable branch of the National Christmas Tree Association and is among fewer than 5 percent of U.S. charities to be awarded the “Best in America” seal of excellence by Independent Charities of America. To learn more, visit the Christmas Spirit Foundation website or call (800) 965-1653.
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