Spreading the festive joy one Christmas tree at a time and all in aid of Saint Vincent de Paul

The lads at Porter Christmas Tree Farm in Co. Wicklow have been spreading festive cheer for over two decades so it’s no surprise that they have been awarded this year’s Irish Christmas Tree ‘Grower of the Year’.

When the good folk at Porter Christmas Tree Farm in Co. Wicklow aren’t growing and distributing their amazing (and massive, just look at the pic below) Christmas trees they give back to the community and have been associated with Blackrock College, Dublin and Saint Vincent De Paul for the last 23 years.

Our whopper Xmas tree from@RockTrees is looking pretty sweet! All proceeds go to @SVP_Ireland, please support. pic.twitter.com/3UUJIVvPea — JOE.ie (@JOEdotie) December 6, 2013

So every season, funds from the sale of Christmas Trees at the Blackrock College, ’Rock Trees’, are all donated to Saint Vincent de Paul. The Saint Vincent de Paul conference within the college carries out amazing work and all proceeds go towards community-based initiatives in Tallaght, from educational support to targeted Saint Vincent de Paul assistance for those in dire need. The primary strategy is to help the students in disadvantaged areas to overcome the financial hurdles and demonstrate that they can succeed and become a source of inspiration to other budding students in the area. Third Level educational based grants are available to nominated deserving students. Rock Tree Christmas hampers are supplied to over 200 families in Tallaght on an annual basis. The hampers are prepared by the students and delivered to the recipients by the students and their parents on the run up to Christmas. Manager at Rock Trees, Cillian Fanning, is hopeful for more great donations: “We have had a great turnout this year so far and we hope to raise as much for the Saint Vincent De Paul as last year. We are open 7 days a week so please come down and support a great cause.” You can help the folk continue their great work by checking out @RockTrees on Twitter or Blackrock Christmas Trees in aid of Saint Vincent de Paul on Facebook for more details. So go on, spread some festive cheer this year.