What it is all about: actual messages from U.S. Troops that received a Real Christmas Tree in 2006

Dear FedEx and the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation,

I live on base in 29 Palms, Ca, home of the largest Marine Corps base in the world. On Saturday, my kids and I waited in line with hundreds of others to visit with Santa and receive a free tree from your organization.

I initially felt guilty accepting such a gift b/c we have no issues with finances. While I stood in line, however, I realized that this gift meant so much more than a free tree. To me, our now decorated tree says, "Thank you for your husband's two tours in Iraq" and "thanks for living in the middle of the desert for three years." I told my kids that the tree was a generous gift from people who think our family's heroic. These are the thoughts that run through my head when I look at our tree.

Thank you!

Jenny

Dear Trees for Troops.  On behalf of the crew of Bunker Hill we are on deployment and we wanted to thank you for the three trees we received today.  As I was trimming the trees the smell of pine filled the air and Sailors stopped by to see and smell and were amazed that they were actually real.

We placed them on our Mess Decks, Chief’s Mess, and Wardroom.  I saw people’s face light up as they saw even the trees with nothing on them.  Were so grateful for the kindness for those who made this possible.  Were proud to serve you and were thinking of home every day.  We will send you pictures after Christmas. 

Peace On Earth

Greetings Y'all!!

Camp Pendleton here; and as far as "our" story goes, the Christmas Spirit Foundation and FedEx Folks' "Trees for Troops Program" had the most positive impact I've seen in the history of my career with Camp Pendleton. The energy exhibited by the FedEx volunteers and the genuine up-front, in-your-face support for our troops was unprecedented!! The appreciation goes well beyond words, as does the impact for a most deserving community. We'll follow up with media stories, etc, but today, right here and now, y'all just gotta know you made a HUGE impact and Camp Pendleton says, OOH-RAH!!!!

Cathy

My husband and i really love this tree. We are very thankful to have gotten such a generous gift some people who care about our troops. There are very few people left. I personally am very happy and yet sad to receive this tree because my husband will be shipping out soon to Iraq, so i will be enjoying this by myself.  I am proud to say that i will continue to support this foundation and have also passed the word to my friends and family on the other Marine bases that have this program part of their base. Keep Up the wonderful work you guys are doing. Oorah

Trees For Troops,

We would personally like to thank you for the wonderful Christmas Tree you provided.  It couldn’t come at a better time.  I recently had my truck stolen and times have been tough lately.  It was a real blessing when my three year old son, Mario and I received a tree from your organization.  It definitely brightened up our Holidays.  Happy Holidays and may God bless you all.

Thank you,

Laura and Mario
Nellis AFB, NV.

Dear Fed Ex and the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation,

Thank you for providing us with a wonderful Christmas Tree.  I'm a newly wed and am new to the army as well (only been in 6 months).  Right now I'm going through Infantry training @ Ft. Benning GA.  This is our first Christmas season away from home and my wife was getting a little sad about not having a tree.  Then we saw Tree For Troops sign.  We decided to stop by and check it out and found a small tree that would fit into our hotel size room.  Attached is a picture of the tree after my wife decorated it. (kinda gives you the idea of how small our room is too, but hey, at least we're together!)

Thanks for remembering those who serve, we are grateful for it!

Dan

I wanted to take a few minutes to let all of the tree donators know exactly what they have done for my family and I.  My husband has been in Korea for 6 months and will be gone for another 18 months.  Doing any holiday without him is very hard.  However, receiving this beautiful tree has made this Christmas so very special.  Due to the expensive plane ticket we had to pay to get him out here for Christmas we weren't sure if we were going to be able to even get a tree.  Now thanks to all of your heartfelt donations we have a tree that is more beautiful than I have ever seen.  As I was standing in line waiting to get the tree, I was overwhelmed and started to tear up at the thought that people would go to these great lengths to make our lives better.  That in itself is so incredibly special.  From all of my family, I would like to thank you for the beautiful tree that has now completed our Christmas. 

Just wanted to let you know how thankful, and grateful I, my daughter and husband are. We were worried we wouldn't be able to afford a Christmas tree this year (our first Christmas together as a family). But thanks to this organization, we have one.... and it is beautiful. So, thank you!

Melissa
Ft. Carson, CO

Hi there, I just wanted to say thank you for supplying trees to the Marines on Camp Pendleton this year.  There is nothing like having a real christmas tree in your home or in the barracks to help celebrate the holiday.  I've missed several holidays, and am lucky enough to be home this year and celebrate Christmas with my family.  Its great to come home and see my beautiful wife sitting next to our tree.  Thank you again for making this possible, and for doing something that can seem so arbitrary to some but so meaningful to others.

Merry Christmas,

 Sgt., USMC

We just wanted to say thank you for supplying us with a Christmas Tree.  We have just arrived at our first duty station at Fort Lewis WA about 3 weeks ago. We have been moved in our home a little over one week and I worked hard to get our home put together so we could feel like we were home. It was such a joy to have a tree as we didn't think we would be able to get one.  This is the first time we are away from family and putting up the tree made us feel so much better.  You have brought delight to our holiday.

Thank you,

Kathy

I just wanted to thank you for the donation of all the trees. I know that had brightened up alot of families this year. I know it did for my family...We had a fake one that our cats desides to destroy... my 3 yr old son was devestated that we had to take it down and that we couldnt afford a 2nd tree... a friend told us about the TREES FOR TROOPS and we went and got one... we had a hard time choosing one we liked, there were alot we liked, my husband say ok trenton (our son) pick one for the house and he did, and its perfect... here is a picture of it... my cats for some reason wont go near this one, so thats a good thing... THANK YOU SOOO VERY MUCH, you  have brought the christmas spirit back into this house for our family, but more so for a little boy...

I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful tree.  My husband is currently deployed to OIF.  We do not have any children and so there are few reasons for me to get into the holiday spirit.  When I heard of your program here at Fort Lewis I was able to get a tree.  It is one thing to go buy a tree or cut one down, but it makes it very special knowing that my tree was donated with love.  Thank you for your program.  It does make a difference in peoples lives.

Best Regards,

Ann

What a great idea!!  I never knew this program existed until my husband brought a tree home to me as a surprise! I think it is wonderful that FedEx is organizing this program and even more wonderful that so many are donating to the cause.

We absolutely love our tree!  It was very crooked, but we fixed that….it’s just a little shorter.

The smell is all about the house, and the lights cast a nice glow onto the base housing “egg-shell white” walls. 

I’ve already called and sent a card, but thank you to the Donelson’s of Sand Country Christmas Trees in Clear Lake, Minnesota for their generous donation.

You’ve made a lot of people happy here at Scott AFB in Illinois.

Merry Christmas,

Cyndi & Doug
Scott AFB, IL

We are sincerely grateful for all those who participated in donating trees for troops.  Last year we spent our Christmas separated from one another (dual military members) and our families. This year we received a beautiful 6ft tree from Trees for Troops at Ft Campbell. Our family will enjoy this special time together with our daughter, friends and family around this beautiful tree and wanted to express our deepest gratitude for all those who have volunteered their time, services and money to make our holiday special.

Thank you and Merry Christmas,

Jimmy & Dee

FT Campbell, KY

Dear Trees for Troops!

I just wanted to thank you for the beautiful christmas tree.  My husband is currently depoyed in Kuwait and it made all the difference that we were thought about during the holiday season with the tree donation.  Our tree colors were purple and silver, and although my husband was not able to trim the tree with us (we have a 6 year old son), he was overwhelmed to hear that we received our very first "live" tree through your donation.  I pray that you will continue this program and I hope that it will bring joy to other lives as this tree as been for us.

P.S. My pictures did not come out very well. 

Sincerely,

Latisha

I'm sorry that I forgot to get a picture but our tree from Tree For Troops was beautiful!!  And what blessing!  My husband is a geograhical bachelor stationed in Pennsylvania while the kids and I stay at Fort Gordon.  We have a "fake" tree that is huge, but right after my husband's last visit home in October I realized that I wasn't going to be able to put up the Christmas tree by myself because the box was on a high shelf and way too big and heavy for me to handle.  I told the kids we would have to wait until Dad got home on December 19th to get the tree set up.  We were all disappointed.  On December 8 I was on Fort Gordon getting my boys' hair cut and the barber had a small real tree in her shop.  She told me she got it from Tree for Troops and where they were set up.  I had thought to myself that if I could find a small real tree for sale somewhere I would get it for the boys.  We went right over to where the soldiers were giving away trees.  I told them I wanted a small tree but they talked me into one about 8 ft tall!!  I could barely pick it up but I could tell it would be gorgeous.  They loaded it in my van and we were off.  Getting that thing set up in the house was a huge undertaking for me but worth every bit of trouble!  It was well-shaped and smelled awesome.  The boys and I decorated it but left the star off for Daddy to put on top.  Somehow we managed to keep it a secret from him and boy was he surprised when he got home!  He thought he was going to have to put up that fake tree one more time.  You know what?  That fake tree is gone!  We donated it to Goodwill.  No more fake trees for us!  We will be looking for Trees for Troops next year!  Thank you so much.  That tree was the highlight of our Christmas Season.  God is good....all the time.

Audrey

Evans, GA

We have been in the Air Force for 20 years. It is the first Christmas without our two boys. Our oldest, who is 23, is also in the Air Force stationed at Ramstein AB in Germany. Our youngest son, 19, is currently going to college and is spending his Christmas break in Germany with his brother and sister-in-law.

It was quite a surprise when they announced that these trees were available. Brenda and I always go out each year and buy a fresh Christmas tree. This really helped to make our Christmas a joyful one, with our boys overseas. We had not yet bought one and this happened at the right time.

We still have it up in the living room. We are leaving it up for Matthew, our youngest, so he can open his Christmas gifts before going back to college. We have had it up 3 weeks and it is still drinking plenty of water. It is a very nice blue spruce. This is the first year we have ever had a blue spruce and we will definitely get another one next year.

Attached are a couple of pictures, some of the tree and one of our family in Germany,

Once again thank you so much for thinking of the military this time of year. We do really appreciate it.

Luke and Brenda

Dear Trees For Troops,

I can't tell you what a difference the tree sent by Teresa in Buffalo, NY made here in Baghdad.  We were sent various decorations from family and friends, but the real Christmas tree made our little office seem like home.

I work with a bunch of Navy Officers and Sailors on loan to the Army for a year of duty here.  Although we normally serve on ships, submarines and in planes, our contribution to the effort here has been a career milestone to most of us.  Knowing that all of you are not only thinking about us, but are showing your appreciation in such a giving way makes what we do all the more worthwhile!

From the guys and gals at Joint CREW Composite Squadron ONE, thank you and may all of your holidays be a little brighter knowing that you made a difference in our lives.

Best wishes and Happy Holidays,

Robert, U.S. Navy

CAMP VICTORY, BAGHDAD, IRAQ

Click here to SUPPORT THIS EFFORT!