Members of the 105th Airlift Wing of the Air National Guard at Stewart Airport in the Town of Newburgh were joined by community volunteers to load donated Christmas trees onto tractor trailers at Farmside Acres in Cornwall yesterday afternoon. The event marked the 10,000th tree donated to Trees for Troops by Farmside Acres.
Trees for Troops is an event that provides free Christmas trees to service members and their families. Farmside Acres donating over 1,600 trees this year, which is a new record for the business.
The Trees for Troops program is a national effort via a partnership between FedEx Freight and the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation. Since 2005, Trees for Troops has delivered more than 250,000 trees to service members. This year, the program expanded its efforts by delivering to an additional 30 military bases.
Each year, FedEx Freight drivers move fresh-cut Christmas trees from 54 locations to more than 80 military bases representing all branches across the U.S. The effort brings together hundreds of tree farms spanning 24 states – from Maine to Oregon – to help execute the program.
Lance Moll, President and CEO of FedEx Freight, said, “With our industry-leading transportation network, our team members look forward to delivering holiday joy to U.S. military service members and their families. It’s our way of saying, ‘Thank you for your sacrifice and service!”’
Wendy Richardson, Chair of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, explained, “Whole communities get involved in getting farm-fresh Christmas trees to our military members.”
This year’s Trees for Troops nationwide effort began on Monday as hundreds of donors and volunteers come together to help make this effort a success.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Trees for Troops program can do so online here: https://www.christmasspiritfoundation.org/Donate
