Christmas tree sale aims to ‘Change A Life.’
All photos by Taylor Baker
On Nov. 23, starting at 1 p.m., Lee University will host “Buy A Tree. Change A Life,” helping children across the world through an annual Christmas tree sale.
The organization started in 2012 when a church body in Florida sold Christmas trees to help with the adoption fees for a family in their congregation. The first year’s sales resulted in $25,000 of donations.
“Buy A Tree. Change A Life.” partners with People for Care and Learning (PCL) and Serving Orphans Worldwide which enable them to provide housing, education, and feeding programs throughout the world.
Nate Tucker, director of IT systems, has been involved with the organization for several years.
“My family and I have been purchasing Christmas trees from ‘Buy A Tree. Change A Life.’ for a number of years. Because the sites haven’t been in Cleveland for a number of years, we took a trip as far as Dalton, GA to purchase our last one,” Tucker said. “We did that because we believe in what ‘Buy A Tree. Change A Life.’ stands for - providing hope to kids globally and locally.”
This is the first time the event has been hosted on Lee University’s campus.
“Lee is hosting the ‘Buy A Tree, Change A Life.’ site because we value our partnership with PCL and believe that together we can do more to help children locally and globally,” Tucker said.
In addition to the global partnership, the organization allows host sites to choose local partnerships, with the understanding 15% of the money raised will stay local. Tucker explained a portion of this year’s money raised will go towards Backyard Ministries, a student-led tutoring ministry, while part will add to scholarship funds for Lee University students.
The grand opening will be a family-friendly event with an appearance from both Santa and Mrs. Claus for pictures. Other activities include writing letters to Santa and enjoying holiday refreshments.
According to Director of the Leonard Center Dr. William Lamb, this event is more than a Christmas tree sale; it’s an opportunity to cultivate hope for those who may need it most this season.
“We aren’t really selling trees - we are giving opportunities for people to give and support hope,” said Lamb. “Yes, the trees have a minimum price, but we believe people will pay much more than a tree is worth because hope is worth more.”
“Buy A Tree. Change A Life.” opens Schimmels Park from 1-9 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23. The Christmas tree sale will continue daily until the trees sell out.
For more information, visit People for Care and Learning’s website or the “Buy A Tree. Change A Life.” Facebook page.
