Lansdale Xmas Tree Farm Ensures Military Families Get Evergreen Cheer
LANSDALE, Pa. (CBS) - A Lansdale Christmas tree farm is taking part in an annual program that provides Christmas trees to the families of military members deployed overseas.
Overall it's been a pretty good year for Bustard's Christmas Trees. One of their Douglas Firs took the top prize at this year's National Tree Contest, and they have not one, but two evergreens in the Executive Mansion, one of them the official White House Christmas Tree.
Over the weekend, Jay Bustard and his staff were concentrating on helping local families find the perfect tree, and offering visitors a chance to make Christmas merry for military families through Trees for Troops.
Bustard says a $35 donation buys a tree worth up to $80:
"We donate some trees to the soldiers and their families, and people can come in and buy a tree at a discounted rate, and then it would get put on a Fed Ex truck that's going to a base in down in South Carolina this year. And then those trees will be given free of charge to families that have one of their members deployed overseas."
Bustard says the tree donation means one less thing on the stateside spouse's to-do list:
"If your husband or wife is overseas, and you've got your family, and you've got a million and one things on your plate from the regular chores of the house to getting ready for the holidays, to everything else, and you're there by yourself...it's nice to be able to say, 'Here's a tree. We're giving you a helping hand.'"
Bustard adds he's struck by the generosity of his customers:
"Here's an opportunity for someone to do something nice, and a lot of people are stepping up to the plate and doing it."
And it looks as if a lot of folks were pitching in. By noon Sunday, the Fed Ex truck that'll take the trees to a base in South Carolina was three-quarters filled.
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