The Mitten Tree Project, hosted by the Frazeysburg Lions Club is back again this year. This community-based project has helped to provide Christmas gifts for hundreds of children in the Tri-Valley area over the past 25-plus years.
Although the holiday season is a joyous time of the year, it can also be a time of frustration and stress for lower-income families trying to provide gifts under the Christmas tree. The Lions Club has stepped up year after year to reduce the strain on local families, while also creating an opportunity for those in the community to help make a child’s Christmas morning a bit brighter. Each year, approximately 10-14 children are sponsored.
“I grew up relatively poor and had a few Christmas mornings without gifts under the tree when I was a pre-teen, stated Lion Earl Paazig. “I remember the resulting feeling. The other side of this situation is that I came to understand the importance of family ties and appreciation for what I already had. Christmas meals with family and Candlelight Services at our church were fond memories.”
Anyone needing assistance with Christmas gifts is welcome to submit an application for consideration by November 22, 2023. This year the project extended the age range to include children 13 and under. Application forms are available at Smitty’s Barbershop (22 E 3rd St., Frazeysburg). They can also be downloaded directly at https://paazig.net/lions/mittentree/Mitten_Tree_Application_2023.pdf and sent to Lion Earl Paazig at the address or email address listed on the application.
The day following Thanksgiving, the Mitten Tree will be placed at Smitty’s Barbershop in Frazeysburg. Mitten-shaped paper ornaments will be hanging from the tree listing the age and gender of an anonymous child and their most needed or wanted items for Christmas. Members of the community are welcome to select a mitten and sponsor a child, providing the items listed. Items can be placed in a trash bag, labeled, and returned to the barbershop before December 15 to be picked up by the family in plenty of time for Christmas. If you wish to participate in sponsoring a child, please stop by Smitty’s Barbershop after Thanksgiving to select a mitten(s).
For further information about the Mitten Tree Project contact Lion Kathy Moran at 740-828-3061, or Lion Earl Paazig at 740-828-1057.
