So many trees, so little time
Photo by JOSH McDONALD These trees, displayed in the Shoshone County Courthouse, are part of Silver Valley Senior Service’s Festival of Trees fundraiser. Each themed tree can be bid on for raffle.
Photo by JOSH McDONALD Susan Johnson shows off her specialty decorated wreath that is available as part of the Festival of Trees. Johnson also did a tree, both are displayed at the Senior Services Center.
Photo by JOSH McDONALD These are just a few examples of some of the trees that are available as part of the Festival of Trees.
OSBURN — There’s a festive feeling in the air at the Silver Valley Senior Center and it’s not just because of their jolly staff.
Once again, the facility is hosting their Festival of Trees fundraiser, which has turned the center into a holiday wonderland full of spectacularly decorated trees and wreaths.
Silver Valley Senior Services is a nonprofit organization that provides hot, nutritious meals to senior citizens throughout the Silver Valley.
Each month, they serve more than 1,200 meals to local seniors, either via home delivery or at one of their congregate sites throughout Shoshone and parts of Kootenai County.
That kind of monthly effort is not cheap.
Not for food and supplies.
Not for gas and vehicle maintenance.
Which is why the Festival of Trees is so important for them.
The Silver Valley Senior Services receives some funding through various grants and from the county, but there are various times where there are gaps in funding which make fundraising vital to their existence.
“We’d be in trouble if we didn’t have fundraisers like the Festival of Trees and the Dave Smith Telethon to help us,” said Julie Crnkovich, Silver Valley Senior Services accountant. “We really depend on these fundraisers and donations to keep us going.”
The Festival of Trees is a very simple and incredibly fun way for them to raise money. Volunteers decorate and then donate the trees and/or wreaths, which are then available to be raffled off.
The trees are currently displayed at both the center in Osburn, but are also at the Shoshone County Courthouse where the different government departments all put together a fun tree to help raise money for the seniors.
“They’re competitive up there at the courthouse,” said Kathy Davis, Senior Center office manager. “They really get into it and it’s nice because they bring in a lot of money for us. We also have a very beautiful tree at Building Maintenance in Wallace that Anna Berger did for us. Susan Johnson also did a terrific tree and a wreath for us and they are here at the Senior Center.”
Tickets to win the trees or wreaths are $2 each and can be purchased at the Shoshone County Courthouse or Silver Valley Senior Services office in Osburn.
The drawings will be held on Thursday at noon at the Silver Valley Senior Services office.
For more information, call the Silver Valley Senior Services office at 208-752-1194 or stop by the center, located at 726 E. Mullan Ave. in Osburn.