Volunteers Aim to Send 2,500 Christmas Trees to Troops

The mini pine trees come in a big knot, all squished together. On the top floor of , Julie Stuhlmacher detangles one and fluffs it into shape. She cuts a skirt from fabric, adds 20 ornaments to the small branches, and places a star on top. The tree goes into a plastic bag, and into a cardboard box. Soon it will board a plane bound for an anonymous U.S. soldier stationed somewhere halfway around the world.

With the help of hundreds of volunteers and donors, Stuhlmacher hopes troops will receive 2,500 such trees this holiday season, reminding them that they are appreciated back home.

The local non-profit, Trees From Home, was about $3,000 short of their $47,000 goal Wednesday, making them about 300 trees short of their goal of 2,500. They plan to send as many packages as they can Friday, but if they get more donations after that they might send more.

"We want them to know they're not forgotten, and we appreciate their sacrifices," Trees From Home Vice President Barb Calbow said. "Some of these men don't have anyone to send them anything. This is their family; this is their connection."

The group sends most of the trees to units from Wisconsin. As they spend their first holiday season at their base, on a NATO-led peace operation KFOR, each of the National Guard soldiers from Wisconsin to Kosovo will receive a package.

The trees also go to units that may just have one local connection, often because a volunteer has heard from a parent whose kid was deployed.

"I'll say, 'we want to send him a tree,'" Stuhlmacher said. "Then those parents get tears in their eyes and can't believe that we want to do that.

And many of the trees go to complete strangers who often send back thank-you notes.

"To think that a stranger is sending them a Christmas present, it's just like unheard of and it makes them feel special," Stuhlmacher said.

The 300 more trees volunteers are hoping for would join 200 others to go to a medical unit out of Madison stationed in Afghanistan, who requested the trees to boost morale.

"Oh, this is a must, Julie," Jerry Hill, a Trees From Home board member and World War II veteran, said about the requested trees. "They have gone the extra mile. We need to keep their morale up."

Hill said he volunteers with Trees From Home because he remembers how valuable it was to hear from home when he was traveling as a marine in World War II.

"It's something tangible," Hill said. "To get a Christmas tree, that would be, oh my, that would be wonderful.

Stuhlmacher started Trees From Home in 2003 when her son John, stationed in Iraq, was injured and couldn't come home for Christmas. It was a family tradition to have Christmas trees in each bedroom, so Stuhlmacher decided to send one to her son in the mail.

"He said it was wonderful, and everyone thought it was great because it was the only color in the desert," Stuhlmacher said.

It was Stuhlmacher's son who convinced her to start sending them to other troops, and the project gradually grew to 1,500 trees last year.

The packages include many gifts for under the trees, including , Harley Davidson swag, a toothbrush that says, "God bless America," playing cards, jelly beans and three Christmas cards for troops to send back home. 

Trees From Home is accepting donations of any amount that can be paid through their website, or with a check or cash. Any donations that are too late for this Christmas delivery will be used next year.