This year has been a difficult one in many ways. The novel coronavirus, aka COVID-19, has put a damper on many things we take for granted.
Add to that the normal difficulties of life—illness, death, disappointment—and many would say 2020 was miserable all the way around.
But many people have looked at the upcoming holidays and determined that they can and will do whatever they need to in order to make things better for someone else, and in return themselves.
One of those acts of good cheer is coming from Carns Equipment, which has partnered with The Salvation Army this year with the Tree of Hope.
Brooke Watson, head of the dealer development team at Carns, said the team met earlier this year and decided they wanted to do something to give back to the community.
The Salvation Army works with local school districts to find families who may not be able to give their children the kind of Christmas they would like. The children, which range from infants to early teens, make lists, and then those lists are broken down and written on tags that earthly angels can choose.
Carns Equipment has a tree in their lobby with tags, and Watson said they are on their third batch of tags this year, and not quite a month has passed since they started on Nov. 4.
Those interested in purchasing gifts can come to Carns Equipment, choose a tag and purchase what is listed on the tag, which includes the gender of the child, their age and one or two items they want.
Watson said that even if you can only afford $5, every little bit helps, and there are little elves keeping an eye on lists and making sure the children get as many items on their list as possible.
Once the items are purchased, they can be brought to Carns Equipment, unwrapped, and they will receive a thank-you gift. Or the items can be dropped off at The Salvation Army.
“It’s always a good thing to follow your heart,” Watson said, adding that kids especially need a bit of hope this year.
The deadline is Dec. 2 to get everything into Carns or The Salvation Army so that everything can be distributed Dec. 4.