O Christmas Tree
Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony gets students into spirit of season
By Catherine Pillsbury
Staff Reporter

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas thanks to a TCU Christmas tree lighting, and good tidings to others weren’t far behind.

The annual Holiday Tree Lighting illuminated the lawn of Sadler Hall Wednesday night followed by Christmas carols and the spirit of giving.

“I think it’s great to see students come together who care so much about this tradition,” said Hillary Wallis, vice president of programming for Order of Omega.

Hot chocolate was available, and there were “ooh”s, “ahh”s and applause as Chancellor Victor Boschini lit the tree. Before and after the lighting, the Reformed University Fellowship band played carols as the crowd sang along.

For the past several years, TCU’s Order of Omega has hosted and participated in the Holiday Tree Lighting and the Spirit of Christmas, a statewide program that provides Christmas gifts for children who would not receive them otherwise.

“Some of these kids have never had a Christmas before,” said Lisa Hill, Child Protective Services community coordinator for Tarrant County. “Or never celebrated a birthday.”

Last year, the program, which is sponsored by Bank One, collected more than 44,000 gifts for 20,000 children throughout Texas. TCU contributed 550 of those gifts. This year, 605 wish cards were picked up with information about individual children and the gifts they want for Christmas, said Wallis, a senior marketing major.

“We’re letting the kids know that there are nice people out there,” Hill said. “And that the community really does care.

“It’s teaching them that they’re not alone and that there are people who do good things, because so far in their young lives they’ve just run into people who do very bad things.”

Students brought the wrapped gifts to the tree, and when most of the hot chocolate was cold and the favorite Christmas carols had been sung, people formed a chain to pass the presents from the tree to the vans, which were waiting to take them to Child Protective Services.

Kim Carpenter, a senior biology major, said she’s come every year with a gift and that it always gets her in the holiday spirit.

“This is such a great event,” said Carpenter. “My favorite part is the hot chocolate and singing the carols.”
Students who missed the opportunity to give gifts can drop them off at any Tarrant County Bank One until Dec. 15.