GREAT FALLS — With Thanksgiving behind us, attention now turns to Christmas. The first step for many people is getting the perfect tree - and the Uptown Optimist Club has begun its annual sale.
The club has about 50 volunteers that spent almost two days setting up the trees at Montana ExpoPark, and are helping customers pick out trees, wrap them up, and get them ready for their new homes.
Club president Marie Willson says this is one of their biggest sales of the year and they make about $70,000 from it every year. The club uses the money and gives it to non-profit agencies in town to help with the holiday season.
“It’s one of our best fundraisers because everyone is happy when they come in. It’s a festive feeling and something positive we can do for the community,” Willson said.
John Houtari is one of the volunteers and has been doing it since 2008. He says he likes the fundraiser and enjoys seeing families coming out to shop for trees and give money to a good cause.
“Getting to see the kids’ faces and them running around is the best part. Seeing how happy they are,” Houtari said.
“It’s been pretty good setting up this year. We had a lot of friends and people come help out with setting up and we’re going to be busy for sure,” he added.
The sale will go until they run out of trees. They expect to sell out before December 10th.
For more information, call 727-7978. Click here to visit the website.
