Tree of Hope Update

Thank you for your article on the Tree of Hope which appeared on page 19 of the current issue of Minnesota Flyer.

This is a well-written summary of the history and current events with Tree of Hope. The results for this year's work are impressive.

This year Tree of Hope distributed toys to:

-32 Minnesota hospitals

-2 Wisconsin hospitals

-2 North Dakota hospitals

-5 Ronald McDonald houses

-2 Twin Cities homeless shelters

Unfortunately, the Flyer article totally neglected to mention where all the toys came from and who was responsible for their purchases.

Howard and Deb Klier, Lakeville residents, have taken on this responsibility for several decades. One learns when talking with them that shopping is an all year event, covering several stores, and successfully negotiating favorable purchase prices on merchandise to make the donated dollars go even further. Their work is well known to many merchandisers with whom they have worked over the years. The Kliers have absorbed many costs including monthly merchandise charges, storage as well as getting the toys to the distribution site on time.

Simply put, there would be no Tree of Hope without the dedication, focus and effort of the Kliers. So, it is appropriate to say thank you to these gracious people who have consistently put service to others well above service to self.

Dedicated people can and do make difference.

--Tom Bredeson

(Editor's Note: We know that there are many others who have contributed their time and talents to this great program over the years. We thank everyone involved and look forward to helping support this event next year.)