Each year, the Walpole Ecumenical Youth Group works with the local clergy on a Giving Tree project sponsored by the Walpole Community Christmas Fund. The project is designed to help families in need put gifts under their Christmas trees. Each year the clergy receives gift information volunteered in confidence by local families who choose to participate in the program, which will be advertised weekly in the River Record, the Monadnock Shopper News, and the Town Crier.  The Youth Group takes the gift information and creates tags to hang on four Giving Trees. The trees begin their journeys at the Congregational Church, St. John’s, the Unitarian Church, and St. Joseph’s Church. Three of the trees then migrate to local banks and businesses to dispense their tags. Community members who want to participate accept one or more tags, purchase the gift listed on each tag, wrap each gift and attach its *unaltered* claim tag, and return the wrapped, tagged gifts to the designated locations by the deadline. The Youth Group collects the gifts and the trees and takes inventory.

Unclaimed tags are handled by the Youth Group on a Shopping Spree night filled with camaraderie, fun and

refreshments.

This year’s project has already started. The kids and advisors from each parish gathered at St. John’s on Sunday, October 19, with boatloads of craft supplies to create the gift tags.  A tagged tree will be available in the Parish Hall on Sunday morning, November 23rd for St. John’s parishioners who want to claim tags.

If you miss church on that date, don’t worry!  The trees will be moved to the Bridge Memorial Library, the Connecticut River Bank, and the Savings Bank of Walpole, so that the community-at-large can claim tags. Just claim a tag, sign your name and phone number on the Tag Claim sheet, and you’re good to go!  Return wrapped, tagged gift(s) to St. John’s OR to one of the community-wide locations before close of business on Wednesday, December 10th.

If you need assistance or know someone who does, please contact The Rev. Susan Kershaw for a private conversation.  For other questions, contact Mary Schoppmeyer at 756-9242, by email at maryschop@comcast.net.