Festival of Trees Gives Holiday Cheer to Big Brothers Big Sisters

One of the most anticipated yearly events on Whidbey Island is the Festival of Trees; a formal auction event benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Island County.  The event features uniquely decorated trees, wreaths and many other interesting items like vacation packages and weekend boat trips.

The first weekend of December everyone gets all dressed up to mingle with friends and have a delicious dinner while enjoying the festive atmosphere of beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

Before dinner, the guests wander around the silent auction room bidding on items such as art work, homemade candy, and baskets of products from local hair salons, massage therapists and coffee shops. Shortly after dinner, the real fun starts with the live auction. Attendees bid on the fully decorated trees and wreaths which will be delivered to their home or place of business.

The trees are donated by Wood Bee Tree Farms and decorated by volunteers, many who start planning their tree as early as January and have decorated trees every year for the past 11 years. Excitement fills the air as friends bid against each other and the auctioneer, Mark Schenfeld of Stokes Auction Group, keeps the action going. By the end of the night everyone goes home knowing they have helped a great local cause and had tons of fun in the process.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring program designed to help children reach their full potential by matching them in one-to-one relationships with positive role models. National research shows that positive relationships between youth and their Big Brother or Big Sister have a direct and measurable impact*.

By participating in our programs, youth are:
• 52% less likely to skip school
• 46% less likely to use illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to start drinking alcohol
• More confident of their academic performance
• Able to get along better with their families

Ticket sales, auction proceeds and corporate sponsorship all combine to help make Festival of Trees the largest fund raiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Island County, which is supported 100% by donations and grants from within our community. Island Thrift and Puget Sound Energy were this year’s largest corporate sponsors but we are also consistently supported by P & L Construction, Wal-Mart, Chugach Industries, Island Medical Spa, Whidbey Island Bank, Koetje Insurance Company, Les Schwab, Island H2O, Windermere Real Estate/Whidbey Island, RE/MAX Acorn, Greenhouse Florist, Krieg Construction, and more.

Thanks to the generous Whidbey Island community we are able to impact the lives of hundreds of local children every year. For more information or to become a big brother or big sister please go to www.bbbsislandcounty.org and watch this 2:34 minute video, Little Moments Big Magic.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6StRhQN8bk

* Tierney, J.P., Grossman, J.B., and Resch, N.L. (1995) Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.