The 5th Annual Giving Tree Festival was this past weekend. For this event, trees are decorated by individuals or companies in the community and then raffled off. The funds raised go to a community member who is in need of financial help, usually because of a medical issue or event. This fundraising festival is special to me because I was the recipient of all the funds raised during it's second year.
I have attended every year since, usually with a variety of family and friends in tow.
This year was a little different though, I was finally in a position to decorate and donate a tree myself! I don't know if this is something I can do every year, but I am glad I was able to finally do it at least this year, since I had been wanting to give back in a way that felt meaningful to me.
I spent hours and hours creating ornaments for my tree, as well as painting a sign and curating a gift basket to go with the tree. I had a lot of fun exploring ideas and watching my ornaments and theme take shape!
My theme became "A Very Homestead Christmas" with 90% of my ornaments being homemade from "homesteady" items.
For my tree I have:
cinnamon stick garland
salt dough stars
big and little pine cones
dried oranges
fabric wrapped candy canes
acorns
chicken feather ornaments
egg carton painted mushrooms
mason jar ring fabric ornaments
stick stars
ribbons
stick tree topper
Sammy helped me set my tree up this past Wednesday during set up hours. It didn't take long at all, the hardest part was spacing out the cinnamon stick garland correctly. I think my tree turned out amazing and I'm pretty proud of how it all pulled together.
I hand painted a sign to go with the tree, as well as curated a gift basket. Both were placed under the tree.
In the gift basket:
peach jam
xmas jam
hemp cbd & arnica muscle rub
green beans
carrots
onions
eggs
soap & accessories
The event spanned the course of two evenings. I typically like to go on Saturday evening and be there for the actual tree drawing. I've helped with this the past two years with writing down the winners and keeping the info organized for the ladies running the event.
The Giving Tree went off without a hitch. There were 19 trees to bid on this year. Two boys named Elijah and Tanner, both Goldendale High School students, are the recipients this year. This past Spring, they were in a terrible car accident together. The funds raised will go to helping the boys in their long recovery.
Both nights saw a huge community turn out, and the gift bags holding the tickets for each tree were all but bursting out the top. I have been happy to watch this event grow in size and financial donations year after year.
The Grange ladies served soup for dinner, and I even baked some chocolate chip cookies to bring. I had some family and friends come to join us, of which I am very thankful for. Sammy and I were there for about 2 hours, eating, admiring the trees, and chatting with friends. The highlight of the evening was when one of the boys, Tanner, came in on his crutches and got to pull the winning ticket for each tree.
In the end, my dad won my tree! He sent money for us to make some bids and wouldn't you know it, his name was pulled for my tree. I'm pretty excited about that. Now I get to have my own tree, which I love, as my xmas tree this year. After that, I hope to have it for my new guesthouse.....unless I decide to recycle it for another Giving Tree Festival year. I only feel a little guilty that someone else doesn't get to admire my tree in their own homes....but hey, it was won fair and square with money spent on bids!
I gifted the sign and curated gift basket to Tanner and his dad as they were leaving. I loved being able to do that.
Definitely another successful Giving Tree Festival. A great way to kick off the upcoming holidays!
Yesterday Sam and I attended the 2nd Annual Golden Pumpkin 5K Fun Run/Walk. This event is put on by a women in our community who battled breast cancer a year before I was diagnosed. All money raised from ticket sales and donations go to a semi-local cancer center. I believe over $700 was raised this year.
The event had over double the amount of people as last year, which is amazing growth! I'm hopeful and excited to continue to watch it grow in the years to come.
This year Molly and Timothy didn't come with, but Anthony, who I thought wasn't coming home this past weekend, surprised me! Him making the drive to attend this event with me felt really meaningful. My friends Molly and Mary (along with her family), also came this year. It was really fun to have a big gang of people to walk with me.
Like last year, I wore my pink tutu and my No Evidence of Disease tank, this year sporting my 3 Years tank instead of my 2 Years tank!
We had an amazing time. 3 miles feels easy and goes fast when you have people to talk to! It was chilly out, but at least it wasn't windy like last year. I had a speaker playing jams, my coffee to keep me going, and friends to chat with. What more could I ask for?
I feel super thankful my friends showed up for me. I am hoping to have a bigger gang next year!
This event felt like a great way to end breast cancer awareness month.
