AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) — Trees for Troops is all about providing Christmas trees for military members and their families this holiday season. 

“We offer these trees to our active-duty service members so we can bring the spirit of the holidays to the home and give back to the community,” Terry Ryan said.

For some military families, the holidays mean spending without their loved ones who are overseas — but these Christmas trees can still bring in some holiday cheer.

“It just reminds us that even though he’s over there or active-duty service members are overseas protecting the United States, us that are still back here are still thought about, appreciated and not forgotten,” Ryan said.

And even during the pandemic Fort Gordon was able to host a Christmas festival bringing the holiday spirit on base.

“We’ve scaled down where we needed to. We’ve changed the way we do things a little bit, but based on where we were this year with vaccines and transmission rates in the community, we felt the risk was low enough to bring more people in,” Fort Gordon Garrison Commander Col. Shaw Pick said.

The festival featured food, drinks and ended the night with a bonfire. 

“I think what’s important about this time of year is that it’s the holidays. So, its a really fun time for a lot of families, but its a really hard time for some families. Not just the active-duty families, but we still have veteran families out in the community that still want to feel connected to Fort Gordon,” Pick said.

Photojournalist: Chris Shipman