Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A successful Christmas tree season for Trees for Troops


Students loading Trees for Troops Christmas trees at The Rocks
The Rocks is a proud long-time supporter of the Trees for Troops program, which delivers farm fresh Christmas trees to members of the United States military and their families, at home and abroad. This year Trees for Troops, a program of the National Christmas Tree Association’s Christmas Spirit Foundation, delivered more than 17,000 trees, donated by Christmas tree farms throughout the country.

Rocks Estate manager Nigel Manley is the chairman of the Christmas Spirit Foundation and had the chance to discuss Trees for Troops with New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan when she cut the first Christmas tree of the season at a New Hampshire tree farm in November. Manley met with the governor again when he presented her with the State House Christmas Tree in early December.

Nigel Manley discusses Trees for Troops with NH Gov. Hassan
The Rocks donated 54 trees to Trees for Troops this year. As has become a holiday tradition, students from the nearby Bethlehem Elementary School came to The Rocks to help load 450 Christmas trees, donated by farms in Vermont and New Hampshire, onto FedEx trucks to be delivered to military families. 

      Highlights of the Trees for Troops program nationally in 2013 include: 
          *   Extensive local media coverage and record   numbers of volunteers for the kickoff of the program at Dull’s Tree Farm in Thorntown, Indiana  
         *   Coordinated Trees for Troops weekend pickup events at over 80 locations across the country   
          *   Broad media coverage at the local and national levels, including a story that aired in December on NBC Nightly News (see the clip here)
*   A $6,000 donation from a foundation led by ex-Detroit Lions All-Pro football player Herman Moore 
*   A high level of donations, demonstrating wide spread support for Trees for Troops

“These and other events demonstrate the value of Trees for Troops, not just to the families we serve, but also the industry as a whole,” Manley says.

Since its inception in 2005, Trees for Troops has delivered over 139,000 farm fresh Christmas trees to military personnel and their families.

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