Trees for Troops
2025 Trees for Troops Sends Over 1,500 Christmas Trees to Service Member Families:
Trees collected at the Upper Mountain Research Station in Ashe County & at the Avery Cooperative Extension Office in Newland were loaded on FedEx trucks by volunteers and sent to Fort Bragg, Fort Benning and MCAS Cherry Point. Thanks to everyone who helped out! There will be a lot of service member families on bases that will get to enjoy the cheer that a real Christmas tree will bring to their homes this holiday season.
Donor Farms: Appalachian Evergreens, Barr Evergreens, Bear Valley Farm, Big Springs Nursery, Beechwold Farms, Bottomleys, Bruner Sides Nursery, Buck’s Tree Farm, Buck Hill Tree Farm, C and J Christmas Trees, Cartner Christmas Tree Farm, Christmas Corner/C&G Christmas Trees, Christmas Tree Hill, Clawson’s Christmas Tree Farm, Cline Church Nursery, Cornett Carolina Trees, Cornett Deal Christmas Tree Farm, Cranberry Creek Farms, Cullowhee Valley Christmas Trees, Happy Holiday Christmas Trees, Kathy Shore Nursery, Lil’ Grandfather Choose & Cut, Mistletoe Meadows, Mountain Top Fraser Fir, Peak Farms, Pressley Tree Farm, Santa’s Choice Tree Farm, Smokey Holler Tree Farm, Snow Creek Christmas Trees, Stone Mountain Farms, Sturgill Tree Farms, Windy Gap Tree Farm, Wishon Evergreens, Wolf Creek Tree Farm & Nursery
Donations: Chick fil-A of Boone, Hardees of Newland
Volunteers: Judd Price, Stacey Barker, AgSouth; Brad Edwards, Ashe/Alleghany NCCES; Blake Williams, Ashe NCCES; Jerry Moody & Avery NCCES Staff; Avery County 4-H, Avery County ROTC & Col. Dave Baker; Blue Ridge Elementary School; Rodney Buchanan, Buck’s Tree Farm; Ronnie Beam, Cartner Christmas Tree Farm; Dee Clark & crew, Christmas Corner; Banner Elk Elementary School; Freedom Trail Elementary School, Ryan Holquist, Cullowhee Valley Christmas Trees; Buddy Deal & crew, Lil Grandfather & Smokey Holler; Clark Adams NCCES; Tony Haywood, NCDA&CS; Clark Adams, NCDA&CS Agronomics, Dr. Will Kohlway, NCSU; John Council & Upper Mountain Research Station Staff, West Wilkes Middle School, Harry Yates
Trees for Troops®, a program of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, provides free, farm-grown Christmas Trees to United States armed forces members in all branches of the military and their families, through donations, sponsorships, grants and the work of many volunteers. The mission of the Christmas Spirit Foundation is to advance the Christmas Spirit for kids, families and the environment through programs and activities. The Trees for Troops® achieves that mission, one tree at a time. Over the past 20 years, with donations, sponsorships and support from Christmas tree farmers, the program has delivered a total of more than 326,273 Real Christmas Trees!
Since 2005 the NC Christmas Tree Association and our member farms have been a part of this fantastic event. Trees are donated by individual farms and lots, the collective efforts of state and regional Christmas Tree associations, local sponsoring groups, and the customers of participating locations. Hundreds of donors and volunteers participate each year to make Trees for Troops® happen.
If you would like more information on this event or interested in donating, please go to https://treesfortroops.org/
Executive Director, Jennifer Greene, Awarded for Her Volunteer Roll
Jennifer Greene hit the ground running when she became Executive Director of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association (NCCTA) in November of 2009, given that state-wide tree pickups were scheduled to happen just a few weeks from that time. However, Greene proved her skills by making plans and phone calls to growers to arrange for donations and pick up locations, while maximizing the program’s exposure to constituents and followers of the North Carolina growers’ association.
“It’s a lot of work, but I don’t do it alone,” says Greene. “I have a wonderful assistant who helps me make phone calls, plan the details, and coordinate volunteers. She assists with all aspects of making it happen. We always have our pickups the week after Thanksgiving, and being that North Carolina is the second largest producer in the nation for Christmas trees, it’s a very busy time. It is important to coordinate dates that also work for the growers, because without their contributions – this program would not exist.”
Greene credits her 13 years of success as Executive Director to assistance from the community, including that of pickup location hosts, the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC)’s from Ashe County and Avery County High Schools, and the Allegheny High School agriculture students. “The students come to tag, and load, and do whatever we need them to,” says Greene. “And they come whether it’s sunny and warm, raining, windy, or there’s snow coming down and it’s freezing cold. Honestly, once people find out about the program details and the impact that it has, and how long it’s been going on, people feel inspired to help and contribute.”
Local community groups such as restaurants, businesses, and private organizations have generously provided snacks, labor, and even homemade baked goods over the years. “School kids in the communities of Western North Carolina participate by drawing pictures and writing messages on the tree tags,” says Greene. “By reading their messages and seeing the images they draw, you are able to experience things from their perspective on Christmas. Trees for Troops, and the Christmas tree industry is one of my favorite things about doing this each year. The NCCTA has a wonderful community of supporters that help make the program possible each and every year.” These vital connections also include public figures and dignitaries who come to help with loading events, providing support for the program, and even getting their hands dirty by tagging and loading trees.
In 2022, Greene volunteered at the last-minute request of CSF, to attend and later publicize the T4T event at Fort Bragg, while representing CSF and all of the grower donors. “It was such a heart-warming experience for me to be able to see firsthand the recipients of the trees. My goal is that the next time I go to a base, I go after school hours, because I would love to be able to see the reactions of the children and the families as they receive and choose their trees,” says Greene. She was also able to supplement a shortfall in tree numbers at the base with a generous contribution of fresh wreaths from growers.
Greene experienced the true reach of the CSF while on a recent kayak tour in Key West, Florida, where a participant inquired about her husband’s NCCTA shirt. “Turns out that he is a Battalion Sergeant Major and has been a recipient of a T4T tree for the past four years,” says Greene. “He thanked me for my work with the program and expressed his gratitude for receiving a tree each year. It was really cool to randomly meet someone who has received a North Carolina Fraser Fir Christmas tree through the T4T program!”
Greene believes that the reason for CSF’s continued impactful growth is the generosity of the Christmas tree growers that make it happen. “I believe it’s an inspiring example of how we can come together as an industry to express our appreciation to those who serve and have served,” says Greene.