Courtesy photo.
SIMI VALLEY — The Simi Valley Family YMCA Christmas tree lot is now open.The Simi Valley Y’s Men’s Club, a YMCA service organization, runs the tree lot. Members from the group volunteer at the lot along with YMCA board members and Adventure Guide youth and their parents.
The entire proceeds for tree sales go back into the community to help families in need. The Y’s Men supports scholarships for kids wanting to attend YMCA camps, the YMCA’s free Safety Around Water program where kids learn water safety and basic swimming, Eagle Scout projects and other community activities.
About 850 trees, between 5′ and 9′ tall, will be for sale. The trees are harvested two days before they are loaded onto a truck for delivery from Oregon. They are packed in ice to stay fresh. “Because our shipment is coming in the first week in December, the trees will be fresher and lower priced than the trees already on sale,” says Curtis Brown, president of the Y’s Men’s Club who has been volunteering at the tree lot for over 15 years. “Most of our trees are Noble firs, which always stay fresher longer.”
As soon as the trees arrive, 125 are unloaded and fresh cut and put on display. The trees on the lot are continually replenished. “We sold out last year in 13 days,” says Brown. “We’ll be open for two weeks or until all the trees are gone.”
The Simi Y has been selling Christmas trees since the 1970s. Christmas tree lot hours are 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The tree lot is located at the Simi YMCA (3200 Cochran St., corner of Galena Ave. and Cochran St., in Simi Valley). For more information, call 805-583-5338.