CHD Partners with Community for Holiday Tree Giveaway in Springfield

The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) partnered with CHD’s Juvenile Justice programs and Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services for a Holiday Tree Jubilee on December 1 at the MLK Community Center in Springfield. There was a free raffle for 75 fully decorated trees, and CHD contributed nine of them.

“CHD also reached out to community partners to donate many trees,” said Sharon Bess, CHD’s director of community adolescent re-entry services for the Western Region DYS.

DYS Facilities Director Katisha Woods-Johnson said she welcomes these types of partnerships “that have a ripple effect on our community. There’s nothing more rewarding than having fun doing important work.”

 The tree-mendous event also included live music, cookie decorating, face painting, a North Pole mailbox, and an appearance from Santa himself!