The Pleasant Valley Fire District, with mutual aid from other area departments and community members, loaded 600 live Christmas trees onto two FedEx trailers for the annual “Trees for Troops” drive on Saturday, November 27. The trailers were loaded at Hahn Farm on Salt Point Turnpike.
The nationwide movement began in 2005 when the National Christmas Tree Association formed the non-profit Christmas SPIRIT Foundation to unite local tree growers who were running small tree programs for troops. Through a partnership with FedEx, the Trees for Troops program has delivered more than 265,000 trees to military families in the U.S. and to troops stationed overseas in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain, and Guam. Christmas. Tree growers and individuals around the country donate the trees, while FedEx provides the shipping for them.