Giving Tree continues to spread good will

James Ahrens

The Holiday Giving Tree campaign is running again this year and will be accepting donations at new campus organizations, encouraging the idea of giving during the Christmas season.

The idea of the campaign is simple; to help those in need.

Campus organizations, including the Catholic Campus Center, Campus Ministry, Washburn Student Government Association, Washburn Residence Council, Living Learning Center, the multicultural affairs office and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority are sponsoring trees.

The organizations which benefit from the Giving Tree campaign include Let’s Help Inc., Doorstep, the Rescue Mission and KVC Behavioral Healthcare.

“[The goal] is to be as non-repetitive as possible,” said Patti Lyon, director of the Catholic Center. Lyon has been in contact with the organizations on campus to work as a liaison. Lyon said she has seen two new organizations in the last two years. This is how the structure of the relationship between the Catholic Campus Center and the university has grown since the program started more than seven years ago.

Each Holiday Giving Tree is covered with angel tags. People who are interested can go to any of the campus organizations and take one or more angel cards. The card will list a gift, whether the recipient is a boy or a girl and initials of the non-profit benefiting. This will allow the donor to have some control over the gift-giving process. Lyon says children are the focus of the program.

Once a toy has been found, it can be dropped off where the card was picked up.

Lyon and the Catholic Campus Center were promoting the campaign in the Memorial Union on Nov. 12. Fliers and lists were distributed to each campus organization. In turn, each organization is expected to promote its own tree. The Campus Catholic Center updates information every year when officers contact each other between university organizations.

There are two locations Let’s Help, one at S.W. Van Buren and another at S. Kansas Avenue. Doorstep Inc. is located at 10th and Clay, Rescue Mission Inc. is at Northwest Curtis and North Kansas Ave and KVC is located at Harrison between 33rd and Croix Street.

The angels, along with unwrapped gifts, can be returned until noon Friday, Dec. 5. Donation tables will also be set up in the Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 19 and Dec. 3. Each campus organization will be accepting donations until this time.