A giving tree is a really worthwhile fundraiser for stocking up a food bank or church pantry around Christmas time. You can also use it to collect gifts for those people who are in particular need during the Holidays.
Rather than decorating your tree with traditional ornaments, use hand-crafted paper ornaments instead, writing an item that is needed on each one. Make sure you cover a variety of price points — items in the $1 to $25 range work best as they give everyone chance to participate.
If you happen to be collecting items for a food bank, list non-perishable goods. Put bins around the tree where people can leave their gifts, or organize a specific date and time to collect all the donations in. Choose the method that works best for your group.
When collecting for those in need, make sure as much information as possible is listed in the ornament: it's much easier to shop for someone when you know they are a medium-sized woman who likes the color red and doesn't have any long-sleeve shirts (or a boy with size 7 feet who needs snow boots, and so on). Without this information, you might end up with something unsuitable.
Find more ideas for helping your local food bank here.
