Sure, it’s fun to find great Christmas gifts for your family and friends, but don’t forget the true meaning of the season.
For decades, the Mirror-Reporter has teamed with the Clear Lake School District to help local families in need experience the joy, peace and hope of the season with the help of The Giving Tree.
Sign up sheets for The Giving Tree were distributed last month through Clear Lake Schools, Head Start and Lake Town Charlie Brown Daycare. Parents and guardians in need of assistance to provide “essential items,” such as food and clothing, were invited to complete a registration form. That information was then used to create an ornament for each child to be displayed on The Giving Tree.
Beginning Wednesday, Nov. 15, the public is invited to stop at the Mirror-Reporter office, 12 N. 4th St., and choose ornaments from the tree. Each ornament denotes the gender, age and needs of a local child.
Additional ornaments represent families requesting food assistance. The purchase of gift cards from local groceries will fill those requests.
Although toys are always a fun gift (and can be included), the primary mission of The Giving Tree is to fulfill “needs.”
One of the founders of The Giving Tree, retired educator Donna Dull, once pointed out that parents look forward to giving their children toys at Christmastime, but often the funds for those gifts are diminished by the reality of buying food and paying for other daily necessities. The Giving Tree helps by focusing on gifts of essential items, like pants, shirts, underwear, shoes, socks and more. And these things don’t need to be any less fun to shop for—prepare to be amazed by the assortment of super hero underwear!
Ornaments may be checked out from the Mirror-Reporter office between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Wrapped gifts and food cards must be turned in to the Mirror-Reporter no later than noon Wednesday, Dec. 13. Families are then notified when gifts are ready for pickup.
Those choosing not to shop this holiday season might consider making a financial donation to The Giving Tree. Funds will be used to fulfill family needs. Thanks to Share Life, donations of cash and food cards for Giving Tree families are tax-deductible. To make a tax-deductible donation to The Giving Tree, make checks payable to Share Life, with “Giving Tree” noted in the memo. Donations may be dropped off or sent to the Mirror-Reporter office.
Former Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter Publisher Marianne Gasaway is organizing The Giving Tree project for the newspaper. She may be reached at 641-231-1558 to answer questions.
Last year The Giving Tree provided food to 70 families and gifts for 150 children.
