Let there be trees. Lots of them.
Around 300 trees were transported from Hunter Farms in Olympia on the morning of Nov. 27 to Mercer Island. Many more will soon be on the way to bring the total to about 1,000 to grace the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services Foundation’s annual Christmas Tree Lot fundraiser at the old Tully’s building, 7810 SE 27th St.
The start date was Nov. 28 and sales will run through Dec. 13. The lot will be open from 3-7 p.m. Thursday-Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Executive Director Cynthia Dasté said the Lion’s Club used to solely run the lot before co-partnering with the foundation in 2016-18. The foundation took over the lot on its own in 2019 and will once again help raise funds for people on the Island who are in need of emergency assistance, which will be distributed by the city’s Youth and Family Services (YFS) department. The last couple of years, residents bought all 1,000 trees.
Because of COVID restrictions this year, people will drive up to the lot, tell volunteers what kind of tree they want and at what height, and the bundled-up trees will be loaded onto the vehicles. Noble, Douglas and Fraser firs will be available along with mixed green wreaths. Overall, about the 40-50 volunteers will be on hand during the duration of the fundraiser.
A volunteer ties a tree to the roof of a car on Saturday morning. Andy Nystrom/ staff photo
The foundation has forged a strong partnership with the city while raising funds to support the city’s YFS services, such as the food pantry, thrift store, holiday gift-card program, school counselors and more. This year, YFS seeks an additional $13,000 to serve all families in its Winter Holiday Gift program. To donate online, visit https://miyfs.org/.
Back-to-school fundraising is also on the foundation’s list, and members raised money at the city’s recycling event and at the Harvest Market. Dasté said that Islanders have been generous with their wallets and pocketbooks, especially during tough COVID times.
“The thing that has amazed me is how engaged people are in this community,” she said. “They want to help lift up the people that are in need on the Island.”
Dasté, who joined the foundation in early September, feels fortunate to be in her position and helping make a difference to continue her more than 25 years in the nonprofit world. Before coming to the Island, she was executive director of three nonprofits and managing director for another.
She touted the foundation’s board of directors as the best one she’s been involved with over the years. It’s 12 people strong with room for three more.
“Every board member in this foundation participates in some way and in a very, very meaningful way. They donate, they spend a tremendous amount of time, volunteering for the tree lot or planning for the breakfast,” said Dasté, adding that one member shines in the marketing realm.
As for the aforementioned popular community breakfast, it will take place virtually next year on Feb. 10.
“We’re doing everything that we can to bring the community together and creating different things on the videos. It’s going to be a great program,” she said.
