Georgia Southern’s Holiday Helper Tree has provided gifts to Statesboro’s vulnerable populations to celebrate the spirit of giving during the holiday season for 31 years.

Holiday Helper Tree is a program founded by Eileen Sconyers-Smith, a retiree who co-founded the program back in 1994. “It’s always been a passion of mine,” said Sconyers-Smith. She was brought into the project by the Volunteer Services Department, now known as the Office of Leadership and Community Engagement, who still runs the program.

Sconyers-Smith was working in the Sociology Department as a Senior Administrative Assistant, when a woman came in asking if the department could help with a social service project she wanted to do for the holidays. Sconyers-Smith volunteered to help, and after a few days the two came up with the “Holiday Helper Tree” format, inspired by Angel Tree programs used in churches. This format allows for volunteers to pick specific gift requests from the tree, and then they can go buy and ship that gift for that person.

The program grew tremendously after its founding. In its first year in 1994, they partnered with three organizations and gave gifts to around 250 people. At its peak in 2014, they partnered with 15-16 organizations and provided for around 1,000 adults and children that holiday season. The program now also includes the Armstrong campus, expanding its scope and allowing it to help even more people.

Since Covid-19, Holiday Helper Tree has gone virtual, with a portal for students and community members to go and sign up to provide gifts for those in need. Click here to participate, the deadline to pull tags and ship gifts is Dec. 6.