One Donation Brings Trees To 150 Homes
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Del.icio.usEach fall, as sure as clockwork, businesses field requests from charities about holiday giving; and many, like Bruce Bucky, are asked to buy Christmas trees from Habilitat.
This year, however, Bucky responded in a way that surprised everyone at the Kaneohe-based drug rehab center: He wrote them a check for $9,600. Then Habilitat played it forward by giving it back in the form of 150 free Christmas trees for a low-income housing project.
“We’d like to do something for the community, and Palolo Valley Homes was the first to respond,” explained VanRyan, 26, a Habilitat resident working for its fund-raising arm.“We’ll take our 5-foot sheared Douglas firs in rental trucks Dec. 10 - one day after our other tree distribution - and give them to the residents in the housing project, face to face.”
“Habilitat gave us a call, and we’re like, yeah!, we’ll take ‘em,” said Dahlia Asuega, manager of PVH. “We’re all excited about it. For a financially strapped low-income community, this is a special gift.” The signup sheet for tree vouchers, Asuega noted, was nearly full last week.
VanRyan characterized his sales pitch as “persistent,” and he made frequent calls to Bucky’s business office, home of the Carl and Hildgund Bucky Foundation. Thinking he’d messed up, he was surprised to get a call back from the busy man. “I was bugging him,” VanRyan recalled, “but I guess I got to him emotionally.”
“I listened to his story, and how he was a victim of drugs before rehab and is now working for Habilitat,” explained Bucky, “and I thought it was a great system. We talked for 20-30 minutes. I liked what he’s doing. Afterwards, I got a call thanking me, when I’m the one that’s thanking them!”
Bucky said it “feels good” to give to causes he believes in, and he wishes he could see the expression on their faces in Palolo.
“I’ve never had a Christmas tree because I’m Jewish,” he added.
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