Simi Valley, Calif.—The Simi Valley Family YMCA will begin selling Christmas trees December 6. The Simi Valley Y’s Men’s Club, a YMCA service organization, runs the tree lot. Members from the group volunteer at the lot along with YMCA board members and Adventure Guide youth and their parents.

The entire proceeds for tree sales go back into the community. The Y’s Men supports scholarships for kids wanting to attend YMCA camps, the YMCA’s free Safety Around Water program where kids learn water safety and basic swimming, Eagle Scout projects and other community activities. 

About 800 trees, between 3′ and 9′ tall, will be for sale. The trees are harvested two days before they are loaded onto a truck for delivery from Oregon. They are packed in ice to stay fresh. “Because we’ve delayed delivery until after Thanksgiving, they will be the freshest and best trees we’ve ever had,” says John Manchester, a Y’s Men’s member who has volunteered, along with his family, at the tree lot for four years.

As soon as the trees arrive, volunteers will immediately get them ready for display. Between 50 and 60 volunteers help at the tree lot each year. “We appreciate our volunteers,” says Manchester. “We couldn’t run a successful Christmas tree lot without them. It’s a great learning experience for our younger volunteers. They learn about responsibility and realize how fulfilling it is to help others.”

The Simi Y has been selling Christmas trees since the 1970s. As in years past, Simi YMCA staff will identify families who may not be able to afford a Christmas tree and give them vouchers for a free tree from the lot.

Christmas tree lot hours are 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The tree lot is located at the Simi YMCA (3200 Cochran St., corner of Galena Ave. and Cochran St., in Simi Valley). For more information, call 805-583-5338.

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