November 24, 2014
Hensler Nursery in Hamlet is donating farm-grown Christmas Trees to U.S. troops and military families through Trees for Troops, a nationwide program of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation in conjunction with the National Christmas Tree Association, the Indiana Christmas Tree Growers Association, and FedEx.
Last holiday season, more than 17,000 trees were delivered to 65 military bases in the U.S. and overseas. This brought the total to more than 139,000 Real Christmas Trees delivered through Trees from Troops since 2005.
Hensler Nursery is donating 30 White Pine and 10 Fraser Fir farm-grown Christmas trees. They will be delivered to the shipping point in Thornton, IN and distributed to military bases and families nationally and internationally.
For 2014, Indiana growers are coming together to provide 182 total trees for this effort.
“We have been a proud participant of the Trees for Troops program since it began, making this our 10th yea to support this great cause,” said Joe Hensler of Hensler Nursery. “Bringing real Christmas trees to the troops and families protecting American just seems like the right thing to do.”
Each year, hundreds of military families visit the Trees for Troops website and Facebook page to leave heartfelt thank you messages and pictures of their families celebrating around their beautifully decorated Christmas trees. For example, a message from a Camp Pendleton family read, “Thank you for our beautiful Christmas tree! We weren’t sure what we were going to do this year…Trees for Troops was an answer to our prayers.”
“Being involved with Trees for Troops is truly a gift that gives back,” said Nigel Manley, Christmas SPIRIT Foundation chairman. “It’s rewarding and meaningful to everyone involved, because it gives us the opportunity to say thank you to our troops, and help ensure military families have the kind of joyful, traditional Christmas memories that we would wish for America’s heroes.”