VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Trees for Troops, a program sponsored by the non-profit charity Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and FedEx Corporation, is celebrating its 15th year of bringing real, fresh-cut Christmas Trees to military installations.
On Monday, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story began distributing approximately 600 trees to military families, specifically, junior military personnel and their families.
"Anything that we do for our service members that brightens their holidays is a good thing," said Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Donahue Deputy Commander of Joint Base Fort Story, "I remember being a junior officer away from my Mom and Dad. And it's a difficult time. So, anything that helps out, especially when you're young and not making a ton of money, anything that helps out, that allows you to spend that money on more gifts is great.
Navy T1 Brandon Dawson, for one, appreciated the gesture.
"Coming from Washington State, this is like a little piece of home," he said. "It fills the house with that evergreen smell, just brings it all back family-wise, knowing that we are apart from loved ones in the state of Washington as well."
Since 2005, the program has touched the lives of thousands of military families at bases across the U.S. and overseas. To date, more than 225,000 farm-grown Christmas Trees have been delivered to military families at bases throughout the U.S. and overseas
Click here to learn more about Trees for Troops.