A little beauty can go a long way to making the holidays feel special. That’s why for years Cynthia Laymon and Mary Chavez have donated beautifully decorated Christmas trees to organizations around the Valley. This year they donated a “Sweet Treats” themed tree to Child Crisis Arizona.
The idea for the trees came when Cynthia sat in a dark hospital lobby one holiday season years ago with only a sad-looking Christmas tree keeping her company. Being in the hospital for a family member at that time of year was difficult enough but the look of the tree made her feel worse. She decided to start a tradition of making sure organizations caring for vulnerable individuals had something beautiful in their lobby during the holidays.
Mary and Cynthia work year-round to collect ornaments that fit the theme of their tree. When the women see an ornament that is too expensive to purchase they find a way to make it themselves.
Over the years they’ve created dozens of designer trees. Each completed tree is given to a non-profit with careful packing instructions and all the boxes they need to store it and bring it back out the following year.
The tree donated to Child Crisis Arizona features a cupcake topper, an oreo-cookie tree skirt and hundreds of ornaments in the shape of chocolates, cakes, lollipops and ice cream cones. It greets any visitors to the office in Phoenix where the early education campus as well as foster care and adoption staff are located.
