NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's about that time to buy a Christmas tree!
Jim McLeod, who runs 8 Santa's Trees lots in and around Nashville, says the majority of his trees are North Carolina-grown.
With several of their communities devastated by Hurricane Helene, he checked in with his fellow friends and farmers in the area.
"They're very resilient; they're very tough. They remind me a lot of the Nashville community when we've been through our challenges," he said.
While there was damage to some tree farms, McLeod says it hasn't impacted our supply, or prices, in Middle Tennessee — at least at his lot.
"The tree farming business has not been devastated. We have plenty of Christmas trees," explained McLeod. "But the community that supports that business has been impacted severely."
It's why McLeod is donating $20,000 to North Carolina charities to get them back on their feet.
"Christmas is a time of giving and it's not about what you get, it's about what you give," he said, encouraging anyone else who feels inclined, to check out the charitiesthey're targeting.
"I didn't know that when we stopped by, but honestly, I'm so excited that we picked this particular tree barn to stop at," said a customer, Hannah Gengenbach. "That's really, really cool, and I love that they're using this as a way to give back."
Learn more on the Santa's Trees website.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.
This story by Aaron Cantrell reminds me of my first school in Dyersburg, TN. I was a student at Bruce School from Kindergarten to second grade until the school system was integrated. My parents graduated from this K-12 school in 1960 in one of the city's African American communities. After sitting empty for several years, part of the school was demolished while the rest was renovated and now serves as a community center for the Bruce community in Dyersburg. A local pastor is now trying to do something similar in the Cemetery community in Rutherford Co.
-Lelan Statom
