Trees for Troops: Celebrating 10 years of Delivering Joy Around the World

For many, there is no better visceral image of the holiday season than the delicious scent and sight of a fresh cut Christmas tree. The Christmas tree embodies the spirit of the season, a symbol of tradition and cheer enjoyed each year.

FedEx and the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation have kept this holiday tradition alive for some very special families and service members with our own tradition that dates back a decade: Trees for Troops.

Over the past ten years we’ve delivered nearly 140,000 fresh Christmas trees to military members and their families at over 100 bases across the U.S. and around the world -- from California to Kuwait and many points in between. Hundreds of tree farmers have generously donated specially selected trees to make the journey.

Two FedEx team members have been instrumental in the program’s success, carefully crafting aircraft and truck delivery schedules to transport the trees from the farms to the bases.

Glenn Carpenter, a manager in the FedEx Global Freight Movement Center, takes great pride in his role directing the trees to their international destinations via the FedEx Express network.

“The ability to bring the holiday season to our troops overseas is an honor and a privilege that I enjoy each year,” Glenn said. “We are able to use our vast global network to bring this holiday symbol to military families all over the world. The tree deliveries to war zones in the Middle East are very gratifying.”  

Operations Modeling Analyst Stan Bradford coordinates the pick-up of 17,000 Christmas trees from over 450 tree farms across North America. He then plots their delivery routes to more than 60 U.S. military bases.

“This is my seventh year working with the Trees for Troops program. As an Army veteran, I am glad FedEx supports these very deserving men, women and their families,” Stan said. “These people do so much for our country and anything we can do to put a little holiday cheer in their lives makes us feel like we’re contributing to something bigger.”

As we kick-off our 10^th anniversary, we’re asking for your help in making these deliveries extra special for our men and women in uniform and their families.

Help us wish our military families a happy holiday on Twitter by using the hashtag #TreesforTroops and we’ll tag it on one of the 17,000 trees we’re delivering this year. A military family will experience the joy of not only receiving a live Christmas tree, but also your personal holiday greeting.

FedEx will deliver the Christmas trees -- tagged with your holiday greetings -- during the first few weeks of December. Join us as we celebrate our 10^th year of this cherished tradition and help deliver these symbols of holiday cheer to our troops and their families!