The Rocks and local students team up to spread holiday spirit through Trees for Troops program

The frosty air at The Rocks Estate was filled this morning with the spirit of the holidays – and the sounds of laughter and happy singing – as fifth graders from nearby Bethlehem Elementary School set to work tagging and loading more than 450 Christmas trees onto a FedEx tractor trailer truck at the farm.

The event has become an annual holiday tradition at The Rocks, which serves as the regional distribution center for Trees for Troops, a national program of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation. The trees loaded Tuesday came from tree farms throughout New Hampshire and Vermont and will be distributed by Trees for Troops to U.S. military personnel and their families serving throughout the country and abroad.

“It’s really fun. It’s a great thing to do,” says student Iris Miller-White of the school’s participation in the Trees for Troops effort.

Miller-White is one of a handful of BES 6^th graders who joined the 5^th grade class to help load trees Tuesday. The students call local businesses to raise donations for the local Trees for Troops effort, collecting about $1,200 each year. They also write tags for each tree, bearing a holiday greeting and the name of the donor.

“It really helps you learn a lot of life lessons,” Miller-White said. “You’re working with your friends and doing something for your community.”

Students donned red and white Santa hats and sang carols while loading the trees into the trailer. FedEx donates all shipping costs for the Trees for Troops program.

The Rocks Estate has been involved with Trees for Troops since its inception in 2005 and donated 54 trees to the program this year.

Some 750 Christmas tree farms from throughout the country participate in Trees for Troops. This year the program has a goal of delivering 18,000 trees to military personnel and their families, which would bring the number of trees delivered since 2005 to over 140,000.

In 2008, the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation presented BES with its Community Award for the school’s dedication to the Trees for Troops program.

“The students from Bethlehem Elementary School work hard to reach out to community members and inspire support for the Trees for Troops program,” says Rocks Estate manager Nigel Manley. “We’re happy to have been involved in the program for so many years and to have local community support. Trees for Troops is a great way to share the holiday spirit with members of the military, who give so much to the country and are often away from home during the holidays.”

To learn more about Trees for Troops, visit the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation website.