Yule Trees Brighten Homes Of Junior CG Personnel

CAPE MAY – An “elf from the North Pole” delivered a Christmas tree to Petty Officer Second Class Sarah Cielecki’s house Dec. 5, as she and other junior-ranking service members at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May participated in Trees for Troops.
In its 11th year, Trees for Troops plans to deliver more than 17,000 Christmas trees to military bases in the U.S. and overseas. Trees for Troops is a program of the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, working together with FedEx and members of the National Christmas Tree Association and many state and local Christmas tree associations. Fifty trees from Canadian farms were delivered to Cape May.
“This is the third year we’ve gotten a tree through the program,” Cielecki said. She and her husband, Joseph, have been stationed in Cape May nearly four years. They live in Court House.
“The first year we came, they ran out of trees so by the time we got here, there was one ‘Charlie Brown’ tree left,” she recalled. “We took it though. This is our last year in Cape May and we plan to do it up right.”
The Cieleckis were the first in line for the trees Dec. 5. Their 4-year-old daughter was at daycare. “She will be surprised when she comes home today,” Cielecki said. “We’ll have to tell her an elf from the North Pole brought the tree for us.”
The trees were delivered by FedEx employee Jim Senor, who believes this is one of the best deliveries he can make. “This is just a fantastic program,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see the joy this brings to our military and their families.”
“A lot of men and women are deployed and conducting front-line Coast Guard missions during the holidays or, as a young service member, they may not be home with their families for Christmas for the first time,” said Capt. Todd Prestidge, commanding officer, Coast Guard Training Center Cape May.
“The support of organizations like the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation is really important to the well being of our members, and the act of recognizing a military member’s sacrifice and showing support with a Christmas tree during that difficult time goes a long way in making their holiday a little brighter,” he added.
Petty Officer Second Class Joshua Peters called the program “wonderful” as he planned to bring home a tree for the first time from the program. “I have a 3-year-old at home,” Peters said, “and another due in eight weeks. This is just a wonderful program; it’s amazing what people can do.”
The tree distribution is coordinated by the center’s Morale Well-being and Recreation (MWR) program, of which Richard Hearn is a member.
“It’s a great program,” he said, “to help keep morale high. It’s important to remember the sacrifices our military are giving, and we’re glad to be able to help out.”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.