CLEARFIELD – About 147 senior citizens will have something special for Christmas, thanks to the generosity of others.
At Thursday’s Clearfield Borough Council meeting, Officer Nathan Curry gave a report on the second-ever “Giving Tree.”
Curry said things are “pretty wrapped up” and the gifts have been delivered, but there are still some stragglers out there. He said the police department and the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging will continue to take gifts.
Curry said there were over 400 tags on the tree this year. He said there was such a big response last year, that they increased the number of tags.
Curry said there were other organizations that took part this year. He said the staff at PennDOT filled 70 tags. He said a nurse from Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College took between 60-70 tags for her co-workers to fill.
“The response has really been overwhelming,” Curry said. “We had people sharing the story on Facebook. We were seeing these posts get tons and tons of shares. It’s really something to see families getting together and bringing the gifts down to the station.,”
Curry said the seniors receiving the gifts do not know where the gifts are coming from.
“They wanted things like a six-pack of Pepsi or a package of M&M’s, things we don’t think about, they’re putting under their trees so they have something to open on Christmas morning.
“These are people who taught in the schools, who went over-seas to serve and they are the backbone of our community. I really want to thank the people who gave this year, and the media for getting the word out. I hope we can keep doing this and that it keeps getting bigger and better every year.”
Curry said over $5,000 has been put in the fuel assistance account at CBT bank. He said in addition to the fuel assistance, there is enough money in the account to help the senior citizens with co-pays for medication.
According to previously-published GANT News articles, the police department, the Area Agency on Aging, CBT (formerly known as Clearfield Bank and Trust), Clearfield Pharmacy & Gift Shoppe and CVS Pharmacy started the concept of the “Giving Tree” in 2015.
Christmas trees were placed in Clearfield Pharmacy and CVS Pharmacy and decorated with tags. Each tag had a male or female and some items they need or would like to receive. Donors were also able to donate money to be used for fuel assistance.