In the spirit of giving, the Forestville Union School District
every December puts up a Christmas tree, but it’s not just any
Christmas tree.
The Holiday Helper Tree sheds gifts on children, who might not
otherwise have packages to open come Christmas Day.
When the tree goes up it is adorned with ornaments that have
tags attached depicting the age and sex of a child, but not their
name. Then, one by one, school staff, teachers and community
members take an ornament off the tree and go out and purchase a
gift for that child. If the child has siblings, they get gifts,
too, Diane Hughes, attendance clerk/registrar at Forestville Union
School District said, noting only she knows who the recipients
are.
After the presents come in, Hughes and her friend Carol Dewey,
who have been organizing the project the last five years, get
together with a group of staff and wrap them all.
“This year there were about 60 children (ornaments) on the
tree,” Hughes said, noting there are about 30 ornaments still up
for grabs and she is happy to offer suggestions to those who don’t
know what to buy. Gifts need to be at the district office by Dec.
14.
“It’s amazing; this is my favorite thing I volunteer for,”
Hughes said of the Holiday Helper Tree.
Recipients agree.
A mother of five – with two teens still living at home and three
grown children out of the house – who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, said the Giving Tree made her children’s Christmas.
“My husband of 30 years just abandoned us and then I lost the
job I had for 27 years (due to an injury),” she said. “I am so
thankful,” she said, as she began to cry. “When Diane called me and
said, ‘come down and get your gifts,’ I was so surprised; I didn’t
even know about the Holiday Helper Tree.
“I used to go all out on Christmas. We were the family that
would go to Disneyland… take vacations. … They would make their
little Christmas lists and get everything they wanted and needed,”
she said of her children, noting, however, they have been “very
accepting” of the changes in their lives and especially grateful to
whoever it was who gave them their presents.
“It’s an amazing thing,” the woman said of the Holiday Helper
Tree. “When I get my feet back on the ground I am going to
participate from the other side; I will definitely be giving,” she
said.
