'O Tannenbaum' Lions Club's annual sale supports good causes
Real Christmas trees are what makes the Christmas experience all the more precious.
Then knowing the money you spent on said tree is going to a good cause is a win-win for everyone.
The Butler Lions Club is again serving the community with its annual Christmas tree sale, which began Nov. 26 at the Trinity Lutheran Church, 120 Sunset Drive.
Doug Hayes has been chairman of the Christmas tree sale for the past 10 years and has participated for 20 years.
Hayes says 100% of the sales during the event go to the Lions Club’s charities and causes.
“Everything from the Blind Association to Leader Dog,” Hayes said. “Those causes help those in need of eye glasses. Blind and hearing are our big charities.
“Everything about the Lions Club is we serve. That’s our motto and everything up to the leader level is all volunteer. We also give a little back to the church for letting us use electricity and the facilities.”
The Christmas trees are sold to the Lions Club by Sam Goldstrom, who owns a tree farm in Rural Valley.
Trees will be sold to customers ranging from $45 to $50 depending on size said Hayes, and the trees are Fraser fir trees, which offers a softer, less prickly feel.
“Sam has been our provider for about the past 12 years,” Hayes said. “He sells them to us at cost, he doesn’t donate them. I wouldn’t expect somebody to do that.”
The Lions Club will have roughly 80 trees on sight, and they will operate the sale until all the trees have been bought.
“We have to keep a limit because we only have so much help,” Hayes said. “When it gets to this time of year we like to be open for business. Last year we were probably open for 12 days total then we were done.”
Help is always needed on all fronts for the Lions Club, Hayes said, even by nonmembers of the community.
“With the members, everyone has their own responsibilities,” Hayes said. “Finding the right amount of help can be a challenge that always seems to work itself out because people come through. It tends to self-correct the closer we get to the sale date.”
Beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving, the sale will operate from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.
Nonmembers are encouraged to stop by and volunteer.
“Anybody can stop and visit,” Hayes said. “They can find someone in charge and ask what needs help with, and if they are interested in the Lions Club, we will tell them about what we do and support.”
The Lions Club is active year-round, with fundraisers ranging from a sausage sale in the spring and fall, to a broom and bag sale.
“I would say it’s probably one of our top four fundraisers for the year,” Hayes said of the tree sale. “Our broom and bag sale is also popular.
“They will set up at the farmers market for the sale and we buy our products from suppliers who employ people that have some sort of physical limitations.”
The Butler Lions Club was chartered in 1923, and has continued to find new ways to help serve the Butler area, such as diabetes walks in the early 2000s and a $75,000 grant in 2007 by the Lions Club International Foundation to fund a diabetes department at the Jean B. Purvis Community Health Center in Summit Township.
“I really like the friendships and the fellowship,” Hayes said. “Seeing some of the things we help with in the community that has taken hold is special.”
For those who would like to join the Lions Club, membership fees start at $75 a year, $55 for additional family members and $55 for students.
Club meetings take place the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the Butler County Association for the Blind, 322 N. Cedar St., or at the Lions Shelter at Alameda Park behind the swimming pool.
Membership details and other information related to the Butler Lions Club can be found at butlerpalionsclub.org.
