Christmas trees for those in need

Short version -- this time of year, those with limited resources put every spare dime into gifts for loved ones, which means there is often nothing left over for a tree at Christmas. This may seem self-evident, and yet I was surprised by how many people responded to my Craigslist ad last year, when I offered to give away a free artificial tree that had seen better days. Dozens of people, across the city, needed a tree.

I gave it to the first person who emailed me. He called the tree a "great blessing" in his life. 

So a few days later, with the help of some friends, I raised a little money last, enough to buy four new artificial trees, plus some ornaments. We gave them away to those who needed them in and around the Pittsburgh area. 

This year, I'd like to see if we can do it for 10 families. $100 is enough for a small pre-lit tree and some trimmings. If we exceed the $1,000 goal, so much the better. I thank you in advance. 

TL;DR version -- this is what I posted last year. It prompted several friends to donate money toward the four new trees mentioned above:

................

So, I was about to throw away a 16-year-old artificial Christmas tree. Six feet or so, the pre-lit kind that, of course, no longer has any working lights on it. It was a Kmart house-brand tree, which ought to tell you something about the budget I was working with at the time.

We haven’t used it in years. No strong memories attached to it. I don’t know why we’ve hung onto it, although I was born into a long line of accomplished hoarders, so that probably comes into play.

Garbage night is Thursday. But on Tuesday I decided to put the thing on Craigslist, just in case anyone wanted a “free artificial tree that has seen better days.” I was honest about its age and condition.

I thought we’d maybe – maybe – get an email or two. Maybe a college kid on a ramen-noodle diet, trying to decorate on the cheap. Maybe one of those garage-sale pros who simply likes a good bargain.

Within hours, I got more than three dozen responses.

All ages. All over the city. All over the county.

I ended up giving it to the very first guy who emailed me – a fella named Joe, who lives in a small apartment above a small diner in Glassport. He was grateful – exceedingly so. He called the well-used, 16-year-old, no-longer-pre-lit, literally trash-bound tree a “great blessing” in his life.

...

There is need all around us. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. We all see it – in the streets, in the supermarkets, everywhere we walk and drive and bus. Everywhere we’d care to look, frankly, even in the neighborhoods and homes where we think it might not exist. We all have friends and relatives who are in tough spots; maybe you’re in a tough spot of your own right now.

We know all that. I know all that, too.

Still. Dozens of strangers, racing to claim a beat-up tree. Some were just kicking the tires. But most sounded a bit more desperate. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was – not just at the volume of inquiries, but their haste and seriousness. I apologized to each of them (aside from Joe) individually. I wished them a Merry Christmas and told them I hoped they’d find a tree.

I’m not sure why I’m sharing this story. Certainly there’s nothing even a little bit admirable about giving away used garbage. And certainly, none of you need to be reminded about the community’s great needs.

But sometimes it is nice to be reminded about the great amount of gratitude that can be reciprocated. Reminded that the tiniest of tiny gestures, the smallest of small offerings, the ugliest of ugly old trees, can be a great blessing in someone’s life. Even if that offering was wholly unintended.

Even if you kind of, you know, bumbled your way into it, because of your enormous and well-documented blind spots related to matters of class, culture and poverty.

No?

Just me?

Yeah, maybe it’s just me.

You? Not so much. You’re all good and generous people. You’re all giving time and money, in ways big and small. I see you attending galas and leading development campaigns for Big Brothers Big Sisters and sitting on nonprofit boards. I see you baking nutrolls for your church and hosting spaghetti dinners for the family that lost everything in a fire and volunteering for your middle-school PTO.

Some of you are superheroes, always doing something, always helping someone. Some of you don’t have that kind of bandwidth or energy (I know I don't), but you write checks when you are able, and that’s great too.

Yet there’s always more to do. And this month is a great month to do it, of course. It’s top of mind.

So do it, if you can. Then do it again in January and February, when the holiday goodwill has worn off. 

I’m grateful to live in a region with so many compassionate people, who so often choose to channel that compassion into daily action. Lots of you make it your life’s work to serve others – in government, in health care, in the military and protective services, at social service agencies, at the local church.

We have a vibrant nonprofit community, too, and many generous foundations that do their best to meet the community’s every-day needs – and go above and beyond during tragedies or emergencies. We’ve had too much of that in Pittsburgh this year, so I won’t belabor it.

Point is, I guess, we’re all in this together. The work of community-building and caring for our neighbors is never over. So, yes, there’s always more need.

But right behind that, there’s grace, and then abundant gratitude. Be someone’s great blessing today. Sometimes, it’s really hard work. Sometimes, it’s much easier than you think.