Lester Park Elementary continue their Giving Tree Project

The Lester Park Elementary will be hosting their 20th annual Giving Tree Project for hospital patients. Lester Park School kindergartners are delivering gifts and small trees to St. Luke’s Hospital, Essentia Health-St. Mary’s and Ecumen Memory Care residents on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

The Giving Tree Project started in 2002. A little boy wanted to give back to the nurses and doctors who saved his little brother’s life from severe burns. It was also his personal “giving” project to give decorated trees to patients spending the holidays away from home. Soon it became a Lester Park Elementary tradition to continue that gift-giving.

The boy who started it all 20 years ago will also be helping out this year. Students will be dropping off the gifts and trees at the hospitals for the staff to distribute to patients.

This is a Service Learning Project in, which the children raise money to purchase the trees and patient gifts. Although, Duluth public school district encourages children to do some extra chores or helpful acts at home to earn a little additional allowance that they would like to donate to the Giving Tree project. Children are also asked to talk about their “good deeds” and “helpful acts” with their classmates.

At Ecumen, students will have an opportunity to distribute the gifts and trees themselves to residents of the Memory Care unit. Masks are required at all locations. The different locations for the Giving Tree project are Essentia Lobby, 407 E 3rd St: 11:30-11:50 a.m. (drop off only). St. Luke’s Northland Medical Center, 1000 E 1st St., Suite 102: 12-12:20 p.m. (drop off only), and Ecumen Memory Care, 4002 London Rd: 12:30 p.m. arrival; 12:40-1:30 p.m. distribution to residents.

For ideas on what gifts to give for patients here is a wish list https://www.essentiahealth.org/services/pediatric-services/child-life-specialists/donation-wish-list-for-childrens-hospital-duluth-mn/.

For another story about the holiday season you can look here https://www.wdio.com/front-page/top-stories/the-best-christmas-ever/.