HCC to Wrap Up 20th Giving Tree Campaign on Dec. 12

HOLYOKE — Members of the Holyoke Community College (HCC) community will help spread some holiday cheer on Thursday, Dec. 12, as they deliver piles of wrapped, donated gifts to representatives from four local charities at the closing reception for the college’s 20th annual Giving Tree campaign.

This year, the HCC community will fulfill the holiday wishes of a nearly 400 clients from Homework House, WestMass ElderCare, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.

The Giving Tree closing reception will run from 10 a.m. until noon in the PeoplesBank Conference Center on the third floor of the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development on the main HCC campus, 303 Homestead Ave. Refreshments will be served. 

Each year during the annual campaign, trees are set up in designated areas around campus. Participants choose colored-coded tags from one of the nonprofit agencies based on the age of the recipient and their wish for a gift. The wrapped gifts are then piled on tables for the closing celebration, when HCC faculty, staff, and students join with representatives from the agencies to distribute the gifts and share food, stories, and joy. 

“This is an amazing tradition and always brings out the best of HCC,” college President Christina Royal said. “The need is so great, as evidenced by the number of gift tags on these trees. Every year, I am really blown away by the generosity of our community here at the college.”