BRATTLEBORO — On Saturday, Dec. 7, the 55th annual Brattleboro Rotary Club Christmas Tree Fundraiser will officially begin. It will end eight days later on Dec. 15.
Since 1965, the Brattleboro Rotary Club has sold Christmas trees as a fundraiser for local student scholarships and this year is no different. This year, the Club has collected 350 Vermont-grown trees of all shapes and sizes, which will be sold daily in front of Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road for nine days.
“The difference this year is the number of days in which the trees will be sold,” said Bill Vermouth, former Rotary Club president, in a news release. “We are shortening the days of the sales so that our members will be better able to provide coverage over the weekend and weekdays.”
Vermouth said the sale will kick off with a remote broadcast by WTSA 96.7FM at 9 a.m., with cider and Christmas cookies served. The first 250 trees will include a handmade Christmas tree ornament from the Czech Republic.
The Brattleboro Rotary Club, founded in 1950, is an active community service club of more than 75 members who engage in community and human-service projects both locally and internationally.
The Brattleboro Rotary Club's Gateway Foundation was established in 1986 to create a local fund to support scholarships awarded annually to Brattleboro-area students pursuing college.
The Gateway Foundation, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, is funded by annual Rotary fundraising projects and generous contributions from Rotarians and other community members.
Proceeds from the Christmas Tree Sale support the club's annual student scholarship awards of $2,000 to $3,000 each. To date, the club has awarded close to $500,000 in scholarships.
For more information about the Brattleboro Rotary Club or Gateway Foundation, visit www.brattlebororotaryclub.org.