The Home Depot's 2008 Festival of Trees entry won the "Mayor's Choice" award.
The Festival of Trees is one of Southwest Florida’s premier holiday showcases, and the Tux and Trees Gala (http://www.tuxandtrees.com) is the signature fundraising event of the Southwest Florida Goodwill Foundation. In the event’s first two years, the festival and gala have raised nearly $100,000 to support Goodwill’s mission of helping people with disabilities and other disadvantages overcome their barriers to employment and independence.
For the third consecutive year, The Home Depot has been an integral part of the Festival of Trees, by donating all of the pre-lit holiday trees that will be decorated by local businesses, organizations, and artists, and auctioned off as part of the Tux and Trees Gala.
“It thrills us to see so many businesses and people who want to be a part of the Festival of Trees,” says Carolyn Johnson, Goodwill’s Vice President of Career Development. “We really couldn’t do this without the support of great sponsors.”
The Festival of Trees is a week-long holiday celebration that begins the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, November 27) with a free showcase of beautifully decorated Christmas trees at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in the Fort Myers River District. Last year, more than 3,000 visitors attended the festival, which continues through Wednesday, December 3.
The holiday celebration culminates in “Tux and Trees,” a black-tie gala on Friday, December 4. This elegant evening features a live auction of decorated trees and a silent auction of lavish holiday wreaths and other items. Tickets to the Tux and Trees Gala will be available after November 1 at http://www.tuxandtrees.com.
To become a Festival of Trees sponsor, or to donate an item to the Tux and Trees silent auction, please contact Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida at (239) 995-2106 ext. 249.
More information about Goodwill's programs and services is available at http://www.goodwillswfl.org.
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Goodwill operates 24 thrift stores in SW Florida to support its mission of removing barriers to independence. Programs include income-sensitive housing, career placement assistance, the L.I.F.E. Academy Charter School, Four Wheels for Work, and others.
The Southwest Florida Goodwill Foundation exists to ensure the long-term vision of Goodwill’s mission, to provide programs and services for people with disabilities and other disadvantages in the community. The foundation will grow from restricted gifts and grants, planned gifts, unrestricted gifts and tithing from Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Inc.
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