Austin, Texas-based Big Red soda has partnered with Trees for Troops to donate live Christmas trees to military families. For every Big Red purchase this holiday season, Big Red will donate a portion of the proceeds to send Christmas trees to military members and their families around the world. Last year, Trees for Troops donated more than 18,000 trees to more than 60 military bases in the U.S. and overseas.
“We’re honored to have the opportunity to give back to our community this year by working with Trees for Troops to help give military families the spirit of a traditional Christmas,” said Big Red SVP of Marketing Thomas Oh. “The military sacrifices a lot for our country and there’s no better way to make families feel more at home than by providing them with a tree for the holidays.”
“This program unites everyone with a common goal of making sure our military feels supported during the Christmas season,” said Nigel Manley, Christmas SPIRIT Foundation chairman. “Tree growers donate trees, consumers purchase trees for loved ones, companies such as Big Red donate to support the program and FedEx Freight makes sure it all happens.”
Trees for Troops brings individual tree growers and state Christmas tree associations together to provide Christmas trees to thousands of families each year. The White House recognized Trees for Troops in 2012 as a top 20 national finalist in the Joining Forces Community Challenge.
“It is easy to take for granted something so simple as decorating a tree around the holidays,” said Amy Schaefer, who received a tree from Trees for Troops last year while her husband, Mark, was deployed in Afghanistan. “We were so lucky. Even though our family was thousands of miles apart last Christmas, our kids were able to decorate the tree with their dad over Skype.”
Big Red can be purchased at participating grocery and convenience stores where a portion of the purchase is donated to Troops for Trees.
Consumers also can make a monetary contribution or donate a tree Dec. 4-6 during the annual Trees for Troops Weekend at participating locations across the U.S. The event partners with Christmas tree farms, retail lots and nurseries across the country that host a trailer to gather donations and donate Christmas trees.
