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. 

Merry Christmas from The Rocks Estate

At The Rocks, we think the holiday season really is “the most wonderful time of the year!” The farm is bustling with happy activities, as families pick out Christmas trees to bring home for trimming, folks enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides through the Estate, shoppers browse the bursting shelves in our two stores, and the air is filled with holiday cheer.

If you haven’t visited The Rocks yet this season, we invite you to stop by… Both our shops – the Rocks Marketplace and the Farm Store are open daily through Christmas Eve, from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (This Saturday, December 21^st, is the last day for wagon rides.) We’re open for tree sales during those hours, as well. So, whether you still need your perfect Christmas tree or you’re looking for a last minute gift, we’re here to help.

In the meantime, for tips on keeping your Christmas tree farm fresh through the holidays, check out this post on our blog. And if you’re wondering what to do with your tree after the holidays, visit this page of the National Christmas Tree Association’s website for recycling tips – and to see some of the cool ways recycled trees are put to use. 

One final note this holiday season ~ from all of us at The Rocks to all of you, may your days be merry and bright. Happy Christmas!

Rocks Estate Traditions & Trees for Troops

At The Rocks Estate, we endeavor to share the joy of the holidays with our customers. So we’re always happy to see folks return to The Rocks year after year to select a farm fresh Christmas tree, enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride, browse our shops, sip some cocoa, and roast a marshmallow or two. For many of you, visiting The Rocks has become a holiday tradition, and we’d love to hear your stories.

If you’d like to share how The Rocks fits into your holiday season, please email your story to info@therocks.org.

One of our holiday traditions at The Rocks is supporting the national Trees for Troops program. Founded in 2005, Trees for Troops provides free, farm-grown Christmas trees to military personnel and their families serving both in the United States and overseas. Last year, Trees for Troops delivered more than 19,000 trees, and since 2005, the program has provided more than 103,000 real Christmas trees to members of our armed forces.

Trees for Troops is a program of the National Christmas Tree Association’s Christmas SPIRIT Foundation. Trees are provided to the program through donations by Christmas tree farmers and their customers. FedEx provides free shipping for the program.

The Rocks has wholeheartedly supported the Trees for Troops effort for years. Rocks Estate manager Nigel Manley is chairman of the national program, and in that role visited the White House when Trees for Troops was named a national finalist in the Joining Forces Community Challenge, an initiative started by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to recognize organizations that provide service and support to military families.

Trees for Troops has also become a community effort, with the 5^th grade class from Bethlehem Elementary School spending a morning each December loading some 400 donated trees from New Hampshire and Vermont onto a FedEx truck at the farm. The students tag each tree with notes of thanks to the service men and women who will receive them.

It is often said that Christmas is about giving. Participating in Trees for Troops is our way at The Rocks of sharing a bit of the holiday spirit with the folks who serve our country. If you’d like to support Trees for Troops, you may make a donation at The Rocks or through the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation. 

Learning New Tricks

Rocks Estate Manager Nigel Manley attended his 15th National Christmas Tree Association conference last month, gleaning information on the latest tricks of the Christmas tree growing trade. Nigel, who is the NCTA director for the New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas Tree Association, was one of more than 400 Christmas tree growers from around the United States, Canada, Mexico, and England to attend the convention in Ohio.

Among the tidbits he picked up from this year’s convention – which he shares with his NH-Vermont associates – were ways to use social media and other new technology to boost marketing efforts, the latest news on the national Trees for Troops program, and information on growing the increasingly popular West Virginia Balsam (also known as the Canaan Fir).

“Only a few farmers from New Hampshire and Vermont are able to attend the national convention, so my role is to bring home the latest techniques for everything from pest control to marketing to share with our member farmers,” said Manley. “The information shared at the convention is important to our local Christmas tree growers. The impact for our local growers learning about these things is huge.”