With the help of fifth-graders from Bethlehem Elementary School in New Hampshire, over 600 Christmas tress have been donated and are en route to service members stationed all over the world.

Organizers from Trees for Troops said these students worked so hard to make the campaign a true success.  One of the organizers, Nigel Manley, shared, “[The students] learn how to raise money. They do cold calling. They write all the tags that send special messages to the troops, and we put them on the trees.”

Manley continues, “Every state has a coordinator who does Trees for Troops. They find out which businesses and farmers will donate trees.”

The Trees for Troops program is in its 14th year, and has become a real tradition in New Hampshire.

One student named Asa Toms shared, “It feels good, because we are giving the trees to the troops who don’t have any trees or family to celebrate Christmas with.”

Sue Greenlaw, the school’s guidance counselor, said, “I think it’s a great opportunity for kids to give back and realize they can have an impact on the world.”

Get this . . .   One of the students in the first group from Bethlehem Elementary School to get involved with the project is a young man named Sam Petree . . . who, years later, joined the Marine Corps and has become one of the recipients of the trees delivered!

Petree says, “I know how it feels to be away from your family and your loved ones during the holidays. It’s a really tough season. These kids are supporting the troops, learning about them and what they do, and with that, it builds respect for everybody, and it teaches the kids some good work ethics.”

(WMUR)