TOLEDO, OHIO (WTOL) – Troops serving overseas will soon get a special Christmas gift with help from several Christmas tree farms and the community. The program called "Trees for Troops" has donated more than 80,000 fresh-cut Christmas trees to U.S. military bases around the world since 2005.
Christmas is still 46 days away but the process to get trees to the troops in time is already underway in northwest Ohio.
Workers at the Whitehouse Christmas Tree Farm spent Wednesday picking and cutting down trees. They will be among 300 trees from Ohio tree farmers that will be shipped to Kuwait Thursday. The trees will then be distributed to bases in the Middle East.
Over the weekend, local Girl Scouts packaged lights, ornaments and everything else needed to decorate the trees with supplies donated by the community over the past month.
Soldiers will also receive handwritten notes, many from Anthony Wayne students.
"It is special. They're fighting for us and to have something as simple as a Christmas tree or a note from a child telling them to take care of themselves and see you soon at home, they're really appreciative of it," said Duke Wheeler, co-owner of Whitehouse Christmas Tree Farm.
In a few weeks, the Whitehouse Christmas Tree Farm will send trees to bases in the U.S. The farm also provides free Christmas trees to military families with someone serving overseas.
