Trees of Hope founder Hannah Pease (center), receives 25 Christmas trees from Elyson, a Katy master-planned community by Newland Communities. Heather Gustafson (left), marketing director for Newland Communities, and Nancy Hyde (far right), marketing manager for Elyson, presented the trees.
Elyson, a master-planned community in Katy, has donated 25 pre-lit, 6.5-foot Christmas trees to Trees of Hope Katy, an organization created to provide new Christmas trees for Katy residents whose homes were affected by Hurricane Harvey.
“Elyson is our fourth community in Katy, where we have been active since Cinco Ranch began development in 1991. We feel deep roots in Katy, and we wanted to support a group that’s making a small but meaningful contribution to helping people recover from Hurricane Harvey,” said Heather Gustafson, marketing director for Newland Communities, the developer of Elyson.
Through November 16, Katy residents can apply to receive a four-foot or six-foot Christmas trees, and local individuals and companies can donate trees to Trees of Hope Katy.
To request a tree, Katy residents are asked to send an email to treesofhopekaty@gmail.com, including their name, physical address, email address, and phone number.
To donate trees to Trees of Hope Katy, go to the group’s online wish list at Walmart:
https://www.walmart.com/lists/manage-wish-list-items?id=7b6c9ae2-1987-489d-95c8-3e63718a097c <https://www.walmart.com/lists/manage-wish-list-items?id=7b6c9ae2-1987-489d-95c8-3e63718a097c> . Trees purchased on this wish list will be delivered directly to the group.
Anyone wishing to purchase and donate a new Christmas tree not on the Walmart wish list may do so, and email treesofhopekaty@gmail.com for delivery details.
Trees will be delivered to Katy families on November 17, the final day of school before Thanksgiving break begins in the Katy Independent School District.
Trees of Hope Katy was founded by several Katy residents, including Hannah Pease.
Hannah and her family lost their home in Bastrop, Texas when it was destroyed by the wildfires that hit Central Texas in the summer of 2011. “We lost our home and all of our Christmas decorations in the fire, and small acts of kindness helped us rebuild our holiday traditions,” she said.
Jen Ingram, whose home in Canyon Gate at Cinco Ranch flooded during Harvey, is another founder of the group. “Next to losing my grandfather’s cherished piano, losing our Christmas tree was the next hardest thing,” she said. “The tree represented 13 Christmases worth of memories for our family.”
More information about Trees of Hope Katy is available on their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/treesofhopekaty.
Located at Grand Parkway and FM 529, Elyson is a 3,642-acre community offering new homes priced from the $200,000s to the $600,000s. For more information, visit www.elyson.com.