This is a wonderful project and an incredible amount of work without the need for the extra precautions that need to be taken this year. Thanks so much to Jeanne Cloues and Marcia Weil for taking it on. – Lil

The Walpole Community Giving Tree Project is getting underway again. 

This project helps financially stressed families provide holiday gifts for their children ages birth-18 (or older if still in high school).  Participating families must be residents of the Walpole township (Walpole, North Walpole, and

Due to the current concern for public health and safety, this project will proceed a bit differently this year.  We already received requests from families with the help of the local schools.  Now we need to get the requests out to potential “shoppers” in the community who would like to help.

From NOVEMBER 8-15 only, tags will be available at the following locations during their regular business hours:  First Congregational Church (M-F 9-12, go to back door by ramp), St. Peter’s Church (during service hours), the Walpole library, Spencer’s Place, Savings Bank of Walpole on Westminster St, and Mascoma Bank. 

Tags will be attached to a bulletin board so people will only touch the tags they wish to take.  You will fill out your contact information on one half of the perforated tag and leave it in the container.  Take the other half of the tag as your “shopping” list, and then attach it very securely to the gift before you return it. 

Gifts may be returned to any of the above locations until the last day of November. Gifts should NOT BE WRAPPED this year.

If you wish to help but are not comfortable with shopping this year, there are 2 other options.  You may choose a tag and leave the whole tag and a donation in an envelope in the tag container, and someone will do the shopping for you.  Or, you can just leave a donation to help purchase gifts for tags that are unclaimed.  Every little bit helps!

Once we collect all the gifts they will be “quarantined” for a week before we sort them all, and then they will be “quarantined” again before families come to pick them up.

This is a wonderful project that helps to brighten the holiday season for many of our local families, and we appreciate everyone’s help so that it can happen during this unusual year.

If you have any questions, you may contact us at weilcloues@comcast.net.
Happy holidays to you and yours!  Please stay safe and healthy!Jeanne Cloues and Marcia Weil, project organizers