With help from FedEx, military troops and the community, Bustard’s Christmas Trees partners Jay and Glenn Bustard hosted the annual Trees for Troops event. The event took place on December 5, 2024.
According to partner Jay Bustard, “[Trees for Troops] is a program that allows us and other people to provide [Christmas] trees to the soldiers and the families at no cost,” Bustard said.
The Christmas trees are donated to the program with help from the community’s generosity. The cost of Christmas trees for this cause were reduced to $45 by the farm.
“[Bustard’s] donates some trees, and then we allow people to buy trees as well,” Bustard said. “[They] get put on the truck, and then FedEx delivers them to the military bases.”
For Pa. Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, he believes that Christmas trees are an important addition to the holiday season.
“The tree is like a meeting spot. It’s where families meet together. It’s where conversations occur. It’s where you reminisce. It’s that sort of walking in the door and seeing the lights are thrown in the trees. It’s a touch of home,” Redding said.
The event has taken place for 20 years, providing more than 176,000 Christmas trees to military families and troops in the United States and overseas.
Brigadier General Mark Goodwill attended the event on behalf of the Pennsylvania National Guard and had a chance to recognize the volunteers who were supporting the troops.
“It’s very appreciated by the military families and our veterans. I really thank and appreciate all the volunteers, FedEx and the tree farm, the tremendous job they do here, supporting our military families,” Goodwill said.
According to Redding, the event helps to recognize the many people who make sacrifices for our country.
“It’s important to know that about 2% of our population in the country is involved in the military,” Redding said. “It happens to be about the same percentage of folks who feed us [and] that allow us to sleep well.”
Before the program existed, Bustard’s saw “various groups” of people in the community who wanted a way to show appreciation and donate.
“We really wanted something that had a little bit more meaning to it,” Bustard said. “Over the years, we’ve had anywhere between 150 and 300 trees [per year that we donated].”
According to Redding, the key to making the program successful is the part that the community plays in it.
“The real key is for the public to buy a tree or donate a tree, and then write a message right on a card. You can do that with a heartfelt message to these families that will receive a tree,” Redding said.
Bustard’s hope for the future is to increase the number of trees that they can donate towards the program. “I just wish I could get more trees in that trailer, but we do the best we can,” Bustard said.