Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home Sharing Tree had 444 names, representing 165 families, on it as of Friday, Dec. 2.
Last year, the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District’s Sharing Tree served more than 500 children, and committee members Heidy Mather and Dianna Huenergardt expect the program to reach about the same number of children again this year.
In the Sharing Tree program, the fire department collects needy children’s names and places them on tags on a Christmas tree. Those tags are taken by members of the public, who go out and buy Christmas gifts for the children. The children’s families pick those up before Christmas at the Fire Hall.
“We have a lot of really great help,” Huenergardt said.
“We really appreciate the community’s involvement,” committee Chairwoman Mather said. “We meet the needs of children that are needy.”
“To me, it’s overwhelming the response of the community,” Huenergardt said.
The Sharing Tree really gives a taste of how supportive the Sweet Home community is, Mather said.
Last year, the Sharing Tree ran out of tags several times because so many people were picking up tags and buying presents for the children, Huenergardt said.
Tags were going slower this year, but that was before the tree was put out at the Christmas bazaar over the weekend.
To help, people can visit the Fire Hall and pick up a tag, or they can drop new unwrapped gifts off in a barrel inside the Fire Hall.
Those unwrapped gifts can be matched to tags based on what the children are asking for, Mather said.
Gifts may be either toys or clothes, Huenergardt said. One woman told her that her children enjoy toys, “but warmth is what’s popular at our house right now.”
Pickup for each family’s gift box will be from Dec. 14 to Dec. 16.
Gifts need to be delivered to the Fire Hall by Dec. 9 so the committee can sort them into boxes.
Medics, firefighters and drivers usually see people in crisis situations, Huenergardt said. “This is the time we get to greet people during the good times.”
As a school volunteer, Mather said, “I see kids that are in desperate need. When I see their names appear, I’m very touched that I’ve been able to help.”
The Sharing Tree has been a program of the fire department for more than 20 years, Fire Chief Mike Beaver said.
“The program was different years and years ago because the firefighters used to get used toys and repair them,” he said. “The intent of the program since I’ve been involved is that hopefully no child in Sweet Home will go without a brighter Christmas because they didn’t get a Christmas gift.”
For more information, call the fire department at 367-5882.