BRADENTON, Fla. — With the Christmas shopping season officially underway, many people are also looking to get their Christmas trees.
The 70th annual Christmas tree lot held by the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County is the longest-running in the county.
“I just think it’s the good thing to do," county resident Renee Lenneman said. "Plus, the prices are good and the Boys and Girls Club is a great organization."
Lenneman brought her granddaughter and foster children with her to buy their Christmas tree on Friday from the tree lot. Volunteers carried the tree out to her van and strapped it onto the roof for her.
“We excited to go home and decorate,” Lenneman said.
The Boys and Girls Club Christmas tree lot will run through Dec. 15, or while supplies last. It is located in McKelvy Park next to the Westgate Shopping Center, 3913 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
“The funds that we raise here go directly to the Boys and Girls clubs in the county helping with our enrichment programs such as fine arts, computer labs, and tutors,” Naomi Copeland said.
Clubs also provide children with a meal while they are there.
Copeland, the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County volunteer and community manager, said the annual tree lot is a significant source of the club’s funds. Without it, they couldn’t offer as many programs in the six clubs around the county or serve 2,800 kids as they do now.
But this isn’t just about fundraising.
“Most importantly, it’s also a community tradition,” Copeland said.
The lot is selling fresh Christmas wreaths and Frasier firs from North Carolina.
Club staff and volunteers from the Bradenton Kiwanis and Coke Florida are on site to help people pick out the right tree for their home.
“Seventy years and counting, we have been a proud supporter of the Boys and Girls Club,” Neil Unruh said.
The Bradenton Kiwanis helped found the Boys and Girls Club.
It’s that tradition and what the Boys and Girls Club does for the children and community that keeps people coming back.
Brides, families fighting for refunds after event venue closes suddenly
“We’ve struggled so hard to scrape the money to be able to do this for her,” Irizarry said. “She’s my only girl and I wanted this so much for her.”
Couples and families who had weddings and events planned at a well-known venue that abruptly closed claim they’re out thousands of dollars and aren’t being given refunds. Annette Irizarry was supposed to hold her 15-year-old daughter’s quinceañera in August at the Clearwater location and said she’s now out the $6,160 she paid. Without that money, Irizarry said she can’t afford to have her daughter’s celebration somewhere else.
