TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Holiday Help Program Branches Out

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 22, 2007

TAMPA - There's a forest of Christmas trees inside Cookie Robinson's house.

But the Victorian-theme, tabletop trees won't be there much longer.

The Port Tampa Helping Hands group will deliver them to 35 local seniors, including nursing home residents, the first week of December.

It's a new holiday tradition for the volunteer group, which for five years has provided Christmas dinners and toys to needy families under the auspices of the Port Tampa City Woman's Club.

"We just felt we could reach out to our elderly," said Robinson, an interior decorator.

The trees range in height from about a foot to 30 inches, and were bought at post-Christmas sales. American Silk Flowers, a wholesale supply company that Robinson does business with, provided decorating materials, including tiny white lights, red-and-gold ornaments, red berries and gold ribbons. Volunteers began decorating the trees in October, spending about 150 hours on the project.

Children from the after-school program at the Kwane Doster Southwest Port Tampa Community Center are making Christmas cards for seniors, and the delivery will include a tin of cookies.

Mark Holan

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT