At The Rocks ~ Trees for Troops by the numbers

The Christmas tree has long been an integral symbol of the season. Somehow, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until there’s a fragrant fir tree standing inside the house, adorned with lights and colors, a centerpiece of the holiday decorations.

Fifth graders and combat vets help load trees.

(Read about the history of the Christmas tree in our Blog post on Christmas tree trivia.)

For more than a decade, the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, a charitable arm of the National Christmas Tree Association, has been delivering Christmas trees and the joy they impart to members of the United States military and their families – serving both at home and abroad.

This week, as has become tradition, students from Bethlehem Elementary School came to The Rocks Estate to help load Christmas trees that will be delivered across the country and perhaps beyond. Each tree holds a note, written by the students, of thanks and good cheer.

Here, Trees for Troops by the numbers:

2005

Year the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and FedEx

first teamed up to deliver Christmas trees

to U.S. service members and their families

______________________________________

11

Number of years The Rocks

has participated in the

Trees for Troops program

_____________________________________

157,263

Christmas trees delivered by

Trees for Troops from the program’s

inception through 2014

___________________________________

450

Christmas trees donated through

New Hampshire and

Vermont tree farms this year

__________________________________

25

Happy 5^th graders helping to

load those 450 trees into the

 FedEx truck at The Rocks December 1^st

____________________________________

573,493

FedEx miles traveled (all donated)

to deliver Trees for Troops

Christmas trees through 2014

_____________________________________

21,000

Farm-grown Christmas trees expected to

be donated this year by

400 tree farms in 25 states

If you’d like to help The Rocks and Trees for Troops spread holiday cheer, one tree at a time, visit the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation website, where you may learn about the history of the program, as well as make a donation to Trees for Troops. 

To see a video clip of this week's loading of the trees, check out WMUR-TV's coverage.