Christmas giving tree warming Kelowna one decoration at a time

KELOWNA – There are no lights or ornaments and it’s not very pretty, but Downtown Kelowna has a new Christmas tree which could make cold nights warmer for the people who need it most.

Traci Savel and Sherri Baker started hanging cold weather items on a downtown tree over the weekend. The tree is located just a few blocks from Metro Community homeless shelter, across from City Hall in Stuart Park.

The gesture hasn't exactly caught on just yet, but one day after the two women left the first items hanging, some have already found homes.

“We made homemade snowflake cards and put 'I’m not lost if you’re out in the cold please take it to keep warm'," Savel says. “The hats and mitts are gone but there are still three scarves so someone is using it.”

Savel says they got the idea from a Facebook post they saw and decided rather than share the post they would share the gesture.

“It’s about helping the community and not asking for anything in return,” she says. 

The temperature in Kelowna has dropped close to -10 Celsius the last few nights, and Savel and Baker say their thoughts naturally turned to those who don’t have a warm place to spend the night.

She encourages anyone with a pair of gloves, a warm hat, jacket or scarf to spare to leave it on the tree for someone else.

“It’s just one person helping one person,” she says. “It doesn’t take much effort to make a big difference in someone’s life.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.