Hundreds of The Heights Church members volunteered to host a winter carnival and bless 300 low-income families on December 15th for the Richardson church’s annual Three Trees event. For the 14th consecutive year, The Heights members made Christmas a little brighter for more than 1,000 North Dallas and Richardson children whose families are struggling to make ends meet.
Guests enjoyed ice skating in the gym; an inflatable slide and sledding tube; a snow maze; the opportunity to stuff their own plush animal in the Toy Factory; a live Nativity scene and petting zoo; a Candy Shoppe; a family craft room; a children’s play area for younger kids; the opportunity to have a family photo taken and printed out on site; making s’mores; and enjoying a special program featuring magic and juggling by Chacy the Clown.
Heights members chose items from each child’s personal Christmas wish list and purchased specific gifts for the child. Volunteers then wrapped the gifts so they could be given to the parents to take home and put under their tree. In addition to the Christmas presents, each family received a gift card for a new pair of shoes for each child, as well as a gift card to buy their family Christmas dinner.
Over the past decade, The Heights members have donated more than $685,000 worth of toys and gift cards for the Three Trees event. But more importantly, 2,950 families… more than 8,800 children… have benefited from the love and generosity of volunteers in their community.
Three Trees was named from a book that traces the significance of three trees in the life of Jesus: from the manger to a fishing boat, and ultimately to his cross. The story of the three trees illustrates that even when things do not seem to be going our way, God has a divine plan for us. https://bible.org/illustration/story-three-trees
Founded in 1956, The Heights Church is located at 201 W. Renner Road at US-75 in Richardson. More at http://www.theheights.org