HELENA — Having a hard time picking out a Christmas tree? Let the Boy Scouts do it for you! They've spent hours combing the forest and have a wide selection available to you and your family.
“This is a very big event for us. It helps pay for a lot of the stuff that we do, the activities we do for the scouts. So, we're very excited to be out here,” says Troop 207 Committee Member, Tommy Griffeth.
Helena Troop 207 began cutting down trees on November 18 and 19, before beginning to set up the tree lot at the fairgrounds. Here, Troop 207 and other Boy Scouts from throughout the area can come and work at the lot.
Some trees come from a farm in Oregon, while others the Boy Scouts hand-picked and cut down here in Montana.
This year marks the 55 year of the Boy Scouts selling trees to the public. Tree prices vary depending on size and type and range anywhere from $30 all the way up to $100.
When you buy a tree from the Boy Scouts, profits go to the Boy Scouts themselves and to funding the group. The scouts can use the money they earn to pay for summer camp. And the organization uses the money for items such as books and badges.
“It's really helped me with scout advancements and also just teamwork building in general because every cent we get here we put towards the camps we go to and making the Boy Scouts all around a more fun place,” says Boy Scout, Deven Birkeland.
Griffeth says that buying your tree from the Boy Scout’s lot helps support a good cause that provides the youth fun with a purpose.
“But it's also a way for us to earn money to provide a program for the kids that so, you know, helps them, you know, fun with a purpose, to be prepared, to do a good turn daily,” says Griffeth.
The lot will be open through December 22, Monday through Wednesday 5-7 PM, Thursday and Friday 4-8 PM, Saturday from 8 AM – 8 PM, and Sunday 12-8 PM.
