Matthew Paslay carries his Christmas tree to his car at the 15th annual Christmas Tree Project Colorado Springs Giveaway, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (Parker Seibold, The Gazette)
The first thing Selena Fernandez's five children did when they received their new bicycles Saturday was proudly exhibit them for their mother.
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Carefully, though excitedly, her children, ranging in age from 3 to 12 years old, maneuvered the handlebars of the colorful bicycles and showed them off with beaming smiles, encouraged by Fernandez's enthusiasm to see the new gifts.
With other trinkets and groceries in hand, volunteers at the 42nd annual Bob Telmossé Foundation Christmas giveaway helped Fernandez's family pack their holiday goodies into their car.
"We are very grateful, and the bikes are awesome. The kids are really excited," said Fernandez, who came out to Saturday's annual giveaway after learning about it online.
She and her family were among more than 1,000 Colorado Springs families lined up at the Colorado Springs Event Center on Saturday to participate in the event, which began reportedly because of a "hoax" played on its namesake, entrepreneur and former Denver Warehouse owner Bob Telmossé, in 1983.
With the help of 670 cheerful volunteers decked in Christmas-themed garb, Colorado Springs children and families on Saturday were allowed their choice of free clothing, toys, Christmas trees and ornaments, holiday decor, books and food, and had the chance to win a bicycle.
The staple holiday giveaway is possible because of community donors who provide goods or monetary donations for the yearly event, coordinator Joey Bippus said.
The items are given away to local families on a first-come, first-served basis for one day a year. Families were lined up as early as 10 a.m. Friday in anticipation of Saturday's event, she said.
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"It gives me tears to see this," Carol Reinert said of the community's outpouring of support for and participation in the event. She is Telmossé's widow and vice president of the Bob Telmossé Foundation Board of Directors.
After Telmossé's death in 2006, the foundation considered ending the annual giveaway, but Telmossé -- and the community -- insisted it continue, Reinert said.
"His dying wish was to keep this going. Bob would be doing cartwheels if he could see this," she said Saturday. "It grows every year, and we put every dime we get back into this event."
No one is turned away or asked to prove their hardship.
"Many people have full-time jobs but can't afford Christmas. We help them and never ask questions," Reinert said.
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The holiday cheer continued nearby at 4757 Galley Road on Saturday, where about 50 volunteer "elves" with The Christmas Tree Project provided hundreds of real and artificial Christmas trees to local families in need.
Families were also allowed to take home books and a variety of holiday decor, from ornaments and tree toppers to stockings, string lights and more.
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What began in 2010 with one artificial tree, a Craigslist ad and $20 has now blossomed 14 years and 15 events later into a staple holiday affair in Colorado Springs that even transcends international borders.
This year, The Christmas Tree Project received 33,000 tree requests from families across the U.S. and the world, said founders and organizers David and Michelle Fein.
Since its inception, the organization has given more than 7,000 Christmas trees to families in Colorado Springs and across the U.S. and the globe, an event news release states.
This year, 620 Colorado Springs families will receive trees, David Fein said.
His organization provided 100 trees and other holiday items to the Bob Telmossé giveaway event. The Christmas Tree Project also partnered with Austin, Texas-area nonprofit Giving Christmas Spirit to provide 150 trees to families in central Texas. Giving Christmas Spirit provides free Christmas decorations to families in need, according to its website.
The Christmas Tree Project also delivered trees earlier in the week to families in Mexico, South Africa, India, Kenya and Ethiopia.
"We are delivering joy and the Christmas experience," David Fein told Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, who stopped by Saturday morning to visit with volunteers and community members. Just feet away from where they conversed, families chose from dozens of trees displayed in the parking lot.
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All the trees and holiday extras are donated or purchased with monetary donations, David Fein said.
"It's a very beautiful thing," Michelle Fein said. "It's very humbling and fulfilling to see (people's) faces when they see all the items they can choose from. I'm amazed at how this has grown. ... Some people who left earlier today said, 'You've made our Christmas.' It changes things for them. It makes part of their holiday come true, a part that they would have otherwise gone without."
For more information about the Bob Telmossé Foundation's annual Christmas giveaway, including how to volunteer or donate items, visit santa-bob.org.
For more information about The Christmas Tree Project, including how to request a tree, donate or volunteer, visit thechristmastreeproject.org.
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