For the majority of Tina Buckhalter’s life, the Giving Tree has been a part of her holiday season. To her, it’s not the Christmas season without the Giving Tree.
The annual wrapping event began over 35 years ago and was started by Buckhalter’s parents, Ed and Judy Barnes. Years later, the Giving Tree has grown and continued to remain an influential part of the family’s holiday season.
In the weeks leading up to the wrapping, people can pick a tag and shop for someone in need. Last Wednesday, community members gathered to wrap the nearly 1,000 gifts.
“I think what makes the Giving Tree unique or special is that the people that come in and help are doing this because they are from this community,” Buckhalter said. “I think that is just their way to kind of give back something.”
The tags are distributed to Clay County banks, the courthouse and the Meat Animal Research Center in early November. Tags remaining on the Friday before the event were picked up by organizers who shopped and filled the remaining gifts.
Wrapping began around 1 p.m., earlier than the typical 4:-5: start time. Once wrapped, the presents were scanned and sorted into piles based
Tree unique or special is that the people that come in and help.’
Tina Buckhalter
on households. The earlier start time was intended to get delivery drivers out sooner when it wasn’t as dark.
Buckhalter estimated that between 75 and 100 people volunteered for this year’s Giving Tree. Around 475 individuals were gifted this year, with each individual being given two gifts. Organizers also had leftover gifts from years past that they were unable to match with anybody. These gifts allowed organizers to give an extra gift to a child or other recipient.
From being both gifted by and being one of the gifters of the Giving Tree over the years, Buckhalter wants the event to have a positive influence on the community.
“I hope that everyone just realizes that they are loved,” Buckhalter said. “There is someone out there that cares for them and they’re not alone.”
While other communities do similar gift-giving events, Buckhalter said one thing that makes the Giving Tree stand out is that it serves all ages. Being able to provide gifts for the nursing homes has a special place in Buckhalter’s heart, as working at one, she sees the joy it brings residents.
“They don’t have families, a lot of them,” Buckhalter said. “So this is the only Christmas that they get. Just to have these two little gifts that they get means the world to them.”
Tiana Barnes, Buckhalter’s daughter, has been involved in the Giving Tree since she was little. She said the event has had a big impact on her life and she always looks forward to it during the Christmas season.
“What doesn’t make it special?” Tiana Barnes, Buchkalter’s daughter, said. “I mean, look at the community, they all come out and help. Everybody that helps, donates the presents and the toys, everybody is always asking us for tags before we even have them ready because they’re ready to go shop–I just think everything makes this special.” Hundreds of volunteers showed up in droves Wednesday, Dec. 20, for the 2023 Clay County Giving Tree gift drive. For over 35 years, the event, which began with the ideas from Ed and Judy Barnes of Clay Center, again stepped up to the plate, delivering hundreds of gifts throughout Clay County this year. ABOVE: This pictures shows the magnitude of the annual event, with gifts being organized and sorted for towns, and rural area’s of the county, while a large group of volunteers wrap gifts that were distributed later in the evening. LEFT: Landry Borer, the son of Jeremy and Ashley Borer of Clay Center was one of several Clay County youth that stepped up and volunteered their time to help carry, organize and wrap gifts for the Giving Tree.
