Troops get free Christmas trees

JENNIFER HLAD
December 11, 2007 - 1:43AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Trucks, vans, sport utility vehicles - and a few cars that looked more suited to tote a bonsai tree than a pine - jammed into the parking lot outside Camp Lejeune's commissary Monday morning, all hoping to get a free dose of holiday spirit.

The beacon that drew hundreds of service members and their families to the parking lot on a day that felt more like May than December? Eight hundred free, fragrant, freshly cut Christmas trees.

It's the second year the Christmas Spirit Foundation has doled out the free trees at Camp Lejeune. The organization began coordinating tree donations and deliveries for service members three years ago, when they went to four Army bases and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

This year, they'll give away 17,000 trees - sending hundreds to troops deployed overseas and thousands more to service members and their families at 37 bases across the country, said Pam Helmsing, executive director of the Christmas Spirit Foundation and of the National Christmas Tree Association.

The bulk of the trees are donated by the growers, and they are transported free by FedEx Freight.

Christmas-tree growers are charitable by nature, Helmsing said, and generally donate trees to churches and military in their communities. But the Christmas Spirit Foundation hoped to expand those donations and take them nationwide. FedEx's participation made it possible, she said.

The program is a way to give back, said Jim Mowrer, service center manager for FedEx Freight in Wilmington.

"We feel like it's just a way that we can say thanks to the families and men and women who gives us our freedom," he said.

Sgt. Robert Morgan appreciates the thought.

As he carried a tree across the parking lot - an attempt to escape the traffic jam early - he said he would not have gotten a tree if it weren't for the giveaway.

"I think it's a good thing," he said. "Marines pay a lot out in town."

Morgan didn't plan to decorate the tree right away, though. His fianc e is coming into town this weekend.

"I'm going to let her do it," Morgan said.

Kelli Harris didn't decorate for Christmas last year but said she was looking forward to decorating her free tree this year, now that her little girl is old enough to appreciate it.

Amaya will be 3 years old in February, Harris said.

"You know military people don't get paid a lot, so this helps," she said.

Jennifer Frantz had heard about the tree giveaway, but the real reason she loaded her two children into the car Monday morning was to go to the commissary, she said.

When she arrived, the recent transplant learned that Camp Lejeune's commissary is closed on Mondays.

"We're not getting milk today, but we are getting a tree," she said. "I think it's really cool. It's great that they do it for the families."

Helmsing said the Christmas Spirit Foundation and all the donors are happy to be able to help.

"We're very pleased to say thank you to the troops and spread a little Christmas cheer," she said.



Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8467. To comment on this story, visit www.jdnews.com.

Ellie