Can you help?

Eighty ornaments remain on The Giving Tree

 About 80 ornaments remain on The Giving Tree at the Mirror-Reporter office with only a few weeks remaining until Christmas.

The need is great this year, with more than 70 Clear Lake families requesting some assistance during the holiday season.  A total of 210 ornaments were intially placed on the  27th annual Giving Tree displayed in the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter office at 12 N. 4th St.  That number is one of the highest in recent years.

The majority of the ornaments remaining on the tree are the gift wishes of children, while approximately 20 are requests for gifts of food made by families.

The Clear Lake School District was in charge of distributing, as well as processing the forms filled out by parents specifying needs they have for their children.  The school district then provides the Mirror-Reporter with ornaments representing the needs of each child.

Other ornaments list the size of a family requesting a food gift card.

Again this year, the Giving Tree is asking that gifts of food be made with a gift card.  The card may be presented with a small treat, but the food gift must be in gift card form, rather than boxes of non-perishable items.  The change was necessitated by the overwhelming amount of food given in the past, as well as the challenge of making timely deliveries to the large number of recipients.

This year gifts must be brought to the Mirror-Reporter office by Wednesday, Dec. 14.

Questions regarding The Giving Tree should be directed to Sara Puttmann at Clear Lake Schools, 641-357-5288.

Those with questions about purchasing gifts or food for families, or wishing to make a financial donation which will be dedicated to the Giving Tree, should contact Marianne Morf at the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter, 357-2131. Gifts of in-store gift cards or promotional “cash” are also welcomed.