Giving Tree returns to spread holiday cheer

An annual tradition, the Platte Valley Giving Tree Project is set to return for another year of giving area residents an opportunity to give to others.

Kassey Westring, Valley Service Organization (VSO) coordinator for the 2023 Platte Valley Giving Tree project said forms for inclusion on the Giving Tree have been distributed and the deadline for families to return the application forms is Thursday, November 16. Forms were distributed to area families earlier through Saratoga and Encampment schools, preschools, Head Start, Carbon County Public Health and Bridge Street Bargains in Saratoga. Completed may be mailed to Westring at the post office box on the form or taken to school offices.

As in past years, the Giving Tree will be in the Town & Country Realty office in Saratoga, Westring said. VSO has organized this project for several years to provide Christmas for Valley children who otherwise might not have much of a holiday, she said.

Tags with the profiles of the children will be placed on the tree and available to the public on Monday, November 20. The tags will have information on the age of each child, their size, what items the child needs, what they want and their interests and favorite colors. There will not be any identifying information on the tag and all information received will be kept in confidence and destroyed after gifts are distributed.

Anyone wishing to provide gifts for the children can pick the tags from the tree starting on November 20. Gifts must be returned, unwrapped, by Thursday, December 14 to Town & Country Realty.

Westring said residents of Valley Care Center would also have tags on the tree, again. As they have in past years, several valley organizations are planning to participate in the Giving Tree project by “adopting” families and purchasing gifts for the entire family.