Ready to grow

The 2021 Giving Tree will be up at Town and Country Realty in Saratoga Monday, November 22.

The Giving Tree project, organized every year by the Valley Service Organization (VSO) is designed to ensure all valley Saratoga and Encampment children have a chance to enjoy a Merry Christmas regardless of economic circumstances, according to Project Chairman Kassey Westring. 

Parents who wish their children included in the project this year are urged to complete and return the forms by this Thursday (November 18). The forms detail their children’s Christmas wishes and needs, plus their ages, sizes, and favorite colors and are still available at Saratoga and Encampment schools, day cares and preschools. 

The information is placed on tags, which, in turn, are placed on the Giving Tree for people to take and use as guidelines for providing gifts for the children. The gifts are to be returned unwrapped to Town and Country Realty along with the tags by Dec.13. Gifts will be distributed to the parents later that week.

Westring emphasized that all names of the families and children are strictly confidential, and tags are destroyed after they have served their purpose.

As in the past, Giving Tree tags on the tree will also include information about residents at Valley Care Center, and valley organizations will be able to sponsor families.

Last year through the generosity of valley residents, the Giving Tree served 21 Saratoga and Encampment families, including 45 children, Westring said. Twenty-one Saratoga Care Center residents also benefited from the program.

The Giving Tree is only one of VSO’s holiday activities. Planning has also started for Winter Wonderland and the annual lighted Christmas parade, which will be held December 11.