Georgia Southern welcomes the Holiday Helper Tree tradition for its 31st anniversary. This tradition is a three decade program founded by Eileen Sconyors-Smith in 1994. This event has offered a way for students, faculty, staff, and even local residents to give back to those in need. 

“The holiday helper tree helps meet the needs of hundreds of individuals in our community so this year we’ve got over 650 tags on the holiday helper tree so the importance is it’s giving back and making an impact directly in the lives of these individuals and to help them make their holiday a little bit brighter.” Community Engagement Coordinator Emily Tanner said. 

Co-founder and retired director, Eileen Sconyers Smith expresses her gratitude and appreciation the community has shown. 

“Showed an outpouring of love to the community and now we’ve branched out to the savannah area…so we just love watching that so we just know that’s what Eagle Nation is about giving and caring to a community of which they’re a part of.” Eileen Sconyors Smith said. 

Each tag represents a person and a need they have. A tag can range from a child to an adult senior. The program partnered with local non-profit agencies to provide for the community. This year, the program decided to include a virtual program where residents can participate from November 4th to December 6th. Supporters can pull from the tree online and have their present shipped directly to their contributor.