Trees for Troops deliver dozens of Christmas trees for Fort McCoy families for 2025 holiday season

Courtesy Photo | A military member gathers a Christmas tree during the 2025 Trees for Troops event Dec. 6, 2025, at McCoy's Community Center at Fort McCoy, Wis. According to www.christmasspiritfoundation.org, the Trees for Troops program has provided a total of 326,273 free Christmas trees to military members and families over the past 20 consecutive years. (Photo by Ashley Sivert, Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

12.11.2025

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                                              

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Fort McCoy military members and their families were treated to 106 free Christmas trees Dec. 5 courtesy of the Trees for Troops effort as a FedEx truck delivered the trees to McCoy’s Community Center at the installation.

Staff with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR) began passing out the trees on Dec. 6 during events taking place at McCoy’s Community Center.

According to www.christmasspiritfoundation.org, the Trees for Troops program has provided a total of 326,273 free Christmas trees to military members and families over the past 20 consecutive years.

“Fresh cut Christmas trees are collected at farms and retail lots before being picked up by the program’s partner, FedEx Freight,” the website states. “As the Trees for Troops program continues to grow since it first started in 2005, the (Christmas Spirit Foundation) Board of Trustees recognized that success of the program depends on both civilian and military volunteers and leaders being involved. These individuals support the program in various ways throughout the year, including sourcing trees to donate, coordinating volunteer efforts to load/unload trees, raising funds to support the program and/or just creating crucial awareness.”

Also according to www.christmasspiritfoundation.org, thousands of trees were picked up from dozens of locations in 2025 and given to more than 90 total bases, including Fort McCoy.

Trees are donated by individual farms and lots, the collective efforts of state and regional Christmas Tree associations, local sponsoring groups, and the customers of participating locations. Hundreds of donors and volunteers participate each year to make Trees for Troops happen, the website states.

Also on the website, it states: “Trees for Troops, a program of the Christmas Spirit Foundation, provides free, farm-grown Christmas Trees to United States armed forces members in all branches of the military and their families through donations, sponsorships, grants, and the work of many volunteers. … Christmas tree growers have been providing free trees for military families for years.

“In 2005, FedEx contacted the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, the 501(c)(3) charitable branch of the National Christmas Tree Association and wanted to be involved in the foundation’s mission. Together the two organizations expanded the idea of providing Christmas trees to military families, and Trees for Troops was born, the website states.

“Since 2005, FedEx Freight has supported the Trees for Troops program, an initiative that delivers farm-grown Christmas trees to domestic and international U.S. military bases,” an organization news release states. “This long-standing collaboration has become a cherished tradition for FedEx Freight, with drivers logging over 600,000 miles for tree deliveries over the years.”

Fort McCoy has been a recipient of Trees for Troops Christmas trees for many years, excluding 2024, and they have previously been delivered to the South Post Housing area.

The feedback is always appreciative from the troops who receive them, DFMWR officials said.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”

Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”

• Date Taken: 12.11.2025
• Date Posted: 12.11.2025 15:46
• Story ID: 553937
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US