Guest Editorial: 'Tis the season to think of giving with Stafholt's annual Blaine Christmas Giving Tree program

Published on Thu, Nov 15, 2012 by Marsha Hawkins

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Another year of Blaine Christmas Giving Tree preparations have begun at Good Samaritan Society-Stafholt. Applications for those families that need help with Christmas gifts for their children have gone out to the Blaine Food Bank, Family Service Center and handed out from Stafholt. 

A team of volunteers and Stafholt staff are processing the applications and making tags to hand out to the many caring 
people in the Blaine community who sponsor these families and purchase gifts for the children for Christmas. It touches the hearts of all those involved to see the response of so many wonderful folks.

The Giving Tree began more than 20 years ago with a wonderful womsn noticing there were children in the community who would not be receiving gifts for Christmas due to family financial circumstances. Her heart was touched and she began taking the names of families that were in need. Thus began the Christmas Giving Tree. 

After a few years when the program became larger, Ann Walter, then the administrator of Stafholt, volunteered Stafholt to take over the administration of the Giving Tree if the Blaine Chamber of Commerce would be in charge of all the financial parts of the program. For 16 years Stafholt has organized the program.

If you are a family in need, please pick up an application at Stafholt as soon as possible and return it there when completed. If you are able to help a family, please pick up tags from a local business, bank, church or from the Stafholt Tree and buy a gift for a child. Gifts are to cost $30 or less. 

Because Christmas is falling on a Tuesday this year, the wrapped gifts will need to be returned to Stafholt December 10 to 14, so we can have them ready to pick up on December 19 and 20. 

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