Sheriff's Office coordinates annual Tree of Hearts giving program

Santa Claus has a lot of helpers in Sanders County disguised as deputies and employees of the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office is the muscle behind the annual Tree of Hearts project that currently is underway to collect toys and gifts for children throughout the county who otherwise might have empty stockings on Christmas morning.

The wooden trees — crafted by wood-shop students at Thompson Falls High School — are distributed to businesses throughout the county the day after Thanksgiving. They’re filled with heart-shaped tags that show the gender and age of a needy child. Shoppers then choose a tag, buy a gift and leave it at the store for it to be picked up by volunteers.

This year 14 trees were distributed to businesses in Thompson Falls, Plains, Hot Springs and Dixon, and seven posters were put up containing forms for people to fill out if they know of a family in need, said Theresa Milner, office administrator for the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office and Tree of Hearts coordinator.

Dec. 19 is the deadline to submit names for the gift distribution.

“The number of gifts and [food] baskets varies from year to year,” Milner said.

Last year 212 families with a total of 450 children received the holiday gifts and food items.

“They get big lawn bags full of gifts, a food basket, turkey, bag of potatoes” and whatever else is available, she said.

Milner coordinates with Harvest Foods in Thompson Falls for the annual food order.

“I usually have volunteers — my assistant (Debbie Rolleri), the sheriff, undersheriff and off-duty deputies, plus other volunteers unload all the food from a trailer,” she said. “Then there’s an assembly line to fill the bags.”

The gifts purchased by charitable residents are collected throughout early December and are held at a facility until the assembly begins.

The baskets and gifts will be delivered on Dec. 22.

The Gambles store in Plains is a longtime participant of the Tree of Hearts project. Gambles employee Margaret McNeil has seen the generosity of the community firsthand. She remembers a young boy about 10 years ago who so badly wanted a bicycle. Normally such items are too big for Tree of Hearts volunteers to deliver.

“We had to have our town deputy take it to [the boy’s] house on Christmas Eve,” McNeil recalled.

She said it’s heartwarming to see folks in the community give so generously. Suggested gift items are toys, gloves, hats and socks.

Milner said the past couple of years volunteers from Avista Utilities have helped wrap gifts and have donated lots of extra gift items such as book lights and lunch boxes. Cash collected from Avista employees helps offset the cost of the food baskets.

Many of the stores are able to wrap the gift items as they’re purchased.

“Gambles is phenomenal at wrapping gifts,” Milner noted.

McNeil said she wants to get the word out about the giving program because of new residents in Sanders County.

“We have quite a few new people who have moved to the area, so we want to get the word out to everyone,” McNeil said, taking a break from hanging outdoor Christmas lights at Gambles this week.

Sanders County has had one of the highest unemployment rates of any county in Montana in recent years, and many families struggle to make ends meet, let alone buy extra items for the holidays.

Tree of Hearts began in 1998 under then-Sheriff Gene Arnold. It’s grown through the years, thanks to the generosity of so many people who go the distance to make sure no child goes without something special on Christmas.

For more information about the Tree of Hearts program, or to provides the names, ages and physical addresses of families in need, call the Sheriff’s Office at 406-827-3584, Ext. 3.