Nine-year-old Jackson True and his 10-year-old brother David are proud to show off their newfound treasures at The Christmas Tree Project giveaway in Colorado Springs.
"We got this ornament thing," said Jackson True.
"I got these two stuffed animals," said David True.
Their mom Brittany, a single mom, says it's been a challenging year.
"We donated our tree last year, and then we went through a bunch of stuff, got rid of a ton of stuff," she said. "Then we just moved into a new place and one item we didn't have was a tree. Definitely have to have a tree for Christmas!"
They're just one of hundreds of people chosen for the annual The Christmas Tree Project giveaway in Colorado Springs. A free tree is just part of the fun. Inside an office building temporarily transformed into a makeshift department store, there are hundreds of decorations to choose from for free.
Melissa Llewellyn was thrilled to find some toys and decorations for her family.
"Times are hard, everybody is going through problems," Llewellyn said. "This helps take everything off of our shoulders."
The parents of 4-month-old Phoenix Macy say he has a rare heart defect.
"His heart is on the right side and he has half a right lung," said his father Armani Macy.
This giveaway is giving their family a chance to focus their time and money on their baby's tough battle ahead.
"It ain't nothing God can't fix," said Macy. "All you have to do is let the stress roll off your shoulders and smile."
David and Michelle Fein got the idea for the giveaway in 2010 after making a post on Craigslist offering to give away a Christmas tree.
"We got all these responses," said Mrs. Fein. "I remember sitting in my living room and I looked at David and said, 'What are we going to do? There are 19 more families.'"
"She had $20 from her principal to do something good with and she said, "Let's buy the Boys Home a tree'," said Mr. Fein. "Then we were having dinner with some friends, and we had 18 (families) left on the list and they started throwing $20 on the dinner table."
Since then, it's grown into a giveaway of thousands of both real and artificial trees. This year alone Fein says they received 26,000 applications from around the world asking for their help.
"Everyone has a story, everyone will tug at your heart, some of them will make you do anything to get that family a tree," he said.
Fein isn't shy about asking for help anywhere across the world.
"I'll call a local tree farm and say, 'Hey, I'm David, I need an elf, I'm with The Christmas Tree Project, we have a family that called," he said. "I tell them a little bit about the family and usually in 60 seconds, they'll say we'll absolutely donate a tree to that family."
It's a mission that has brought joy to so many.
"The world needs a message of love, of goodness, of looking in people's eyes and trusting them even if they're different than you, whatever side of the aisle they're on, and in this world that happens every day every moment," Fein said.
If you would like to find out if you qualify for a free tree next year or have one to donate to the cause click here for more information.
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