Day After Thanksgiving Marks Beginning Of Annual Optimist Christmas Tree Sale
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The day after Thanksgiving, most people begin their Christmas shopping.
For the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club, the day after Thanksgiving is the beginning of their Christmas tree sale.
The tree sale will be six days a week from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday sales will be 1 to 8:30 p.m. All sales will be in the Owen's Supermarket parking lot on East Center Street.
"Owen's is very kind to let us use their lot, which really helps us," said Dan Woods, Optimist Club.
The Optimists will unload the trees beginning at 7 a.m. Nov. 25 and be finished by 7:30 a.m.
"It's a club challenge to get them off the semi (in record time)," said Woods.
There will be 750 trees this year for sale and a few Christmas wreaths. All are real.
Trees 6-feet-6-inches tall and under are $20. Taller trees are $25. Wreaths 17 inches in diameter will be $17, and 24-inch wreaths will be $25.
Woods said they've added wreaths and more trees this year to try to raise the profit. The cost of the trees continues to climb and the Optimists have kept their trees at the same cost for years. Last year, they sold 700 trees.
"All the profit goes back to our youth projects," Woods said. The club hopes to make $5,000 to give back to community children.
Some of the service activities the club supports through the Christmas tree sales include Art in the Park, the Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy, the Boy and Girl Scouts of America and the Beaman Home. The Optimists also help these activities and others by members donating their time and energy to volunteer and help the organizations or programs. The club gives away approximately $15,000 to $20,000 a year.
The Christmas tree sale has been going on for more than 37 years. Each of the members donates several hours to keep the tree sale going.
The Breakfast Optimist Club has 130 members and just started a junior Optimist Club for high school students. The junior club has 50 members.
"They wanted to do it. They came to us asking to do it," Woods said.
The Optimists are working with Warsaw Community High School and Lakeland Christian Academy to get the program started. Currently, they meet at the high school but hope to have their own meeting place soon to be able to expand.
If everything goes as planned, the junior Optimist Club will be the first Optimist Club chartered in the new millennium.
The Optimists also are sponsoring a downtown Santa House in December with the Junior Optimists as the elves. The "elves" will take pictures of Santa with each child for free.
Adults interested in joining the Optimist Club can show up Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m. at the meeting at the fairgrounds and pick up an application. The Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club is part of an international organization. [[In-content Ad]]
The day after Thanksgiving, most people begin their Christmas shopping.
For the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club, the day after Thanksgiving is the beginning of their Christmas tree sale.
The tree sale will be six days a week from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday sales will be 1 to 8:30 p.m. All sales will be in the Owen's Supermarket parking lot on East Center Street.
"Owen's is very kind to let us use their lot, which really helps us," said Dan Woods, Optimist Club.
The Optimists will unload the trees beginning at 7 a.m. Nov. 25 and be finished by 7:30 a.m.
"It's a club challenge to get them off the semi (in record time)," said Woods.
There will be 750 trees this year for sale and a few Christmas wreaths. All are real.
Trees 6-feet-6-inches tall and under are $20. Taller trees are $25. Wreaths 17 inches in diameter will be $17, and 24-inch wreaths will be $25.
Woods said they've added wreaths and more trees this year to try to raise the profit. The cost of the trees continues to climb and the Optimists have kept their trees at the same cost for years. Last year, they sold 700 trees.
"All the profit goes back to our youth projects," Woods said. The club hopes to make $5,000 to give back to community children.
Some of the service activities the club supports through the Christmas tree sales include Art in the Park, the Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy, the Boy and Girl Scouts of America and the Beaman Home. The Optimists also help these activities and others by members donating their time and energy to volunteer and help the organizations or programs. The club gives away approximately $15,000 to $20,000 a year.
The Christmas tree sale has been going on for more than 37 years. Each of the members donates several hours to keep the tree sale going.
The Breakfast Optimist Club has 130 members and just started a junior Optimist Club for high school students. The junior club has 50 members.
"They wanted to do it. They came to us asking to do it," Woods said.
The Optimists are working with Warsaw Community High School and Lakeland Christian Academy to get the program started. Currently, they meet at the high school but hope to have their own meeting place soon to be able to expand.
If everything goes as planned, the junior Optimist Club will be the first Optimist Club chartered in the new millennium.
The Optimists also are sponsoring a downtown Santa House in December with the Junior Optimists as the elves. The "elves" will take pictures of Santa with each child for free.
Adults interested in joining the Optimist Club can show up Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m. at the meeting at the fairgrounds and pick up an application. The Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club is part of an international organization. [[In-content Ad]]