TREE SALE TALE SEES HAPPY TWIST
School fundraiser a target of vandalism, theft
What began as a disheartening story of vandalism and theft has turned into an uplifting Christmas tale for a Catholic high school’s annual tree sale in Braintree — as people turned out in droves to support the charity drive.
Volunteers discovered Friday that someone had stolen a number of trees and destroyed wreaths and tree stands in the parking lot at the Archbishop Williams High School. But this weekend’s annual tree sale saw almost double the number of trees sold for this time of year, while receiving random donations from parents and families who heard the news.
“Saturday morning when I went to open up there seemed to be more people than usual,” said Braintree resident and volunteer Jenny Gordon. “People who already had trees and didn’t need a tree bought some and others made small donations.”
Gordon said she and other volunteers were shocked to learn that trees went missing earlier in the week, and were more upset by the broken lights and damaged wreaths that were thrown to the ground.
“I could tell a little that something was wrong when I saw that the first tree was askew,” Gordon said. “I took it almost personal because I’m one of the organizers and I’ve been working on this since September.”
Gordon said 700 trees are ordered from Nova Scotia every year for the fundraiser with a goal of raising close to $35,000 to offset tuition costs for students.
“We’ve gotten a really wonderful response from the community,” said tree sale organizer Michael Parsons. “People actually paid for the things that were damaged. As bad as it was on Friday it turned out to be a really great weekend.”
Gordon said that the incident, which was reported to police, seems to have brought the community closer together.
“People who have never shopped here or heard of (the sale) have stopped by,” Gordon said. “People are talking about it. Somebody came and bought four Christmas trees. They’re buying them for neighbors and friends just to support us.”