Prairie Gardens held Trees for Troops weekend for first time

David Kucera, Shrub Lot Manager at Prairie Gardens in Champaign, loads trees into a FedEx truck for the Trees for Troops program on Friday, December 4. Since 2005, the program has provided more than 50,000 real Christmas trees to military families. This year, Prairie Gardens of will provide a minimum of 100 trees which will go to Fort Bliss in Texas.
Trevor Greene The Daily Illini

Trees for Troops, a nationwide program for giving Christmas trees to service members and their families, took place from Dec. 4 until Dec. 6.

The home and garden store Prairie Gardens, 3000 W. Springfield Ave. in Champaign, collected trees and donations from donors.

“As long as we’re invited, we’re going to keep participating,” said Susie Jennings, manager of Prairie Gardens.

The program ships trees to troops and their families on military bases both in the U.S. and overseas. It began in 2005 as a joint effort between FedEx and the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, or CSF, and delivered 4,300 trees to five bases that year. CSF and FedEx hope to deliver a total of 15,000 trees for the 2009 Christmas season.

“Our military and their families have been providing a real service to our country,” said Mark Steelhammer, president of the National Christmas Tree Association and a Christmas tree farmer from Rochester, Wash. “And, as Christmas Tree farmers, we want them to be able to experience a traditional Christmas with a real tree.”

Jennings said 45 to 60 trees were collected in the first two days of the program. The store’s goal was to collect between 160 and 180.

Customers had the option of buying a tree to donate or making a cash donation that will go toward shipping. The trees will be shipped from Prairie Gardens to Camp Lejeune, N.C., Ft. Bliss, Texas and MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. starting Monday, Jennings said.

Prairie Gardens’ employees, armed forces volunteers and ROTC students at the University loaded the trees onto FedEx trucks.

Prairie Gardens and Jeffrey Alans, a holiday store chain, donate $5 to the Trees for Troops program for every tree purchased.

“One family purchased five trees,” Jennings said.

The type of trees selected for the program are Balsam Firs, which cost $19.97. They are the only type the program collected. Donors cannot choose a specific soldier to send the trees to.

“It is great to know there are people out there that are trying to make our men and women in the service feel a little bit more at home,” said Brad Vonck, junior in LAS.