Giving Tree still has names of children in need of gifts

The Giving Tree, formerly known as the Elf Tree offered by the Department of Family Services, is up at Storyteller located downtown at 524 Broadway Street.

Executive director of Safe Haven Kaitlin Stone provided information on how the Giving Tree works and its guidelines and said, “The way we’re doing it this year is that everybody writes down three wants and three needs for each child. Each child gets two separate tags on the tree so that if somebody is purchasing gifts and they only want to get a need item, they can pull a need tag. Or if they want to get fun stuff, they can pull a want tag. It kind of makes sure that people can pick and choose what they want to be buying.”

Stone added, “It’s a way for the community to come together and make sure that all kiddos have a good Christmas. Anyone can sign up. There’s no income restriction. Thanks to our incredible community and donations of time and gifts, we are able to work together to provide a beautiful holiday for anyone who might need a little extra help.”

The deadline to return wrapped gifts to Storyteller or Safe Haven is Thursday, Dec. 22.

Safe Haven will notify the adult that signed up the children when the gifts are ready for pick up. For more information, call 864-4673.