Beneficiary
Each year, the festival committee reviews applications from many area charitable organizations, and selects a beneficiary for the event. The selected organization(s) then provide volunteers and other support to the committee to conduct the event. Substantially all of the net proceeds are then given to the beneficiary organization.
This year the beneficiaries will be The Wolfeboro Nursery School and Assistance Canine Training Services.
The Wolfeboro Nursery School, Inc. has cared for and educated nearly two thousand children over the past fifty five years. The purpose of the organization is to offer a positive child centered preschool experience, which provides for social interaction, physical development, emotional growth, intellectual stimulation, and introduces children to the learning process. The funds from the Festival of Trees will go into the Anita Hale Scholarship Endowment Fund to help with tuition assistance.
The mission of Assistance Canine Training Services is to acquire, raise, train, and place service dogs with individuals having mobility disabilities. Puppies are about eight weeks old when they are placed with a volunteer who helps train the dog for approximately two years. The dogs are taught tasks such as fetching dropped objects, opening and closing doors, turning light switches on and off and fetching the phone or remote. As the dog nears the end of his training, a client is chosen, and the final training is geared toward the needs of that person. After the dog is placed with the client, additional training is provided to learn how to work as a team. The ACTS training center is located in Tuftonboro, and the funds from the Festival of Trees will be used to install a wheelchair accessible ramp and a handicap accessible bathroom.In the past years, the festival has raised more than $182,000 to aid the following local charitable organizations:
2010 - Wolfeboro Senior Center and Meals
2009 - Lions Fuel Assistance Fund
2008 - 10th anniversary year, proceeds divided among past beneficiaries.
2007 - Wolfeboro Area Meals on Wheels
2006 - Wolfeboro Friends of Music, Appalachian Mountain Teen Project
2005 - Child Advocacy Center of Carroll County
2004 - VNA Good Beginnings
2003 - Lakes Region Humane Society
2002 - Kingswood Youth Center
2001 - Wolfeboro Area Children's Center
2000 - Life Ministries Food Pantry
1999 - Life Ministries Food Pantry