Do you ever wonder what happens to your Christmas tree after ‘tree collection day’ or whatever tree disposal method you choose? The National Christmas Tree Association says that an average of 25-30 million real trees are sold as Christmas trees each year, which is a lot of post-Christmas waste if you ask me.
Thankfully, one man in Copperas Cove, Texas has found a way to put discarded trees to good use.
U.S. Army veteran Jamie Willis takes donations of Christmas Trees after the holidays and uses the wood to make walking canes for Veterans and civilians who need them.
Canes for Veterans Central Texas provides handmade canes at no cost to those they are donated to.
“The whole process, it’s just done off donations,” Willis explains, “I make the canes myself. Everything’s done out of pocket.”
Willis has made over 200 canes by hand since starting the non-profit.
“This is all out of kindness. I do everything out of pocket and from donations”
Each donated tree equates to a single cane, which takes an entire day to make. Willis then uses his own money to ship the cane to whomever it is for.
“It’s been an outpouring of donations this year, more than I ever thought I would get,” he told CNN , “Home Depot flooded me with trees, they’re sending me 400, and the rest of the community will be giving me about another 100 trees.”
Canes for Veterans Central Texas is a branch off of Free Canes for Veterans.
Free Canes For Veterans Organizer Oscar Morris explained that Willis was the fifth veteran to start their own branch off of the non-profit.
“It would be a blessing to get the word out for more veterans to do this,” Morris said, “Each of these veterans were on my original list of 500 in 2015.”
“It was the act of kindness and a piece of wood that was their inspiration”
Canes For Veterans Central Texas accepts monetary donations and donations of trees through their Facebook Page . Consider giving your tree to a good cause this year.
Last Updated on December 30, 2019 by Sydney Brooman