LUDLOW – With Christmas approaching, a Ludlow resident will be donating trees to families in town that might not be able to afford them on their own.

Meg Madera, a lifelong Ludlow resident, said this is the second year in a row she has tried to help families around the holidays.

“Last year I formed a group called the Holiday Helpers and instead of trees what I did was give out baskets of goods that we collected from the community, like gift cards, food and services. That became quite large, and we gave out over 40 baskets,” she said.

With a newborn and a toddler, Madera said she had to scale back what she could do for the community.

“This year I have a newborn and a toddler, and I needed to scale it back just a little bit, so I decided to do the tree thing instead,” she said.

The winners of the name drawing will meet Madera at the Ludlow Fire Department to pick out their tree.

“The Ludlow Fire Department gets trees delivered to the station every year and it is something that growing up my family has always gotten our tree there, so it is one of those traditions that I like to keep, and we will be purchasing the trees from the Fire Department,” she said.

Because of a last minute donation from the Fire Department and 3 Arrow Taxidermy on Nov. 23, Madera said she was able to provide even more to the families.

“The LFD reached out to me this morning and on behalf of the LFD and 3 Arrow Taxidermy the cost of all of the trees will be covered! The trees will have ornaments, lights and a stand. There will also be a little extra something under the tree for each family this year!” she said.

While she only planned on providing trees to two families, Madera said her plan changed.

“We had a total of five families nominated and with the help of my family, friends and the community, all five will be receiving Christmas trees,” she said.

While the names of families were drawn during the week of Thanksgiving, Madera did not release the names of the families for privacy reasons.

Madera added that she has always tried to give back to the town she grew up in.

“I have always been somebody that likes to help others when I have the opportunity to. Last year I did the basket thing because I was lucky enough to maintain a job throughout the pandemic, my family did not struggle and we were very lucky,” she said. “I know some other families are less fortunate, so it is important to me to share what I have.”

By giving back to the community, Madera said she wants to be a role model for her children.

“I am not able to do too much, but whatever little I can do to help make somebody’s holiday a little bit better or their day a little bit brighter, I certainly do. I want to show my kids and lead by example to show them that if you have a little extra in your cup it helps to share and can make you feel better by doing so,” she said. “It is just part of the holiday spirit, it is not all about material things, it is about the feeling.”

Madera wanted to thank everyone for helping with the tree donations.
“Thank you again to all of the Holiday Helpers in the community, family and friends old and new. This is all made possible by you!” she said.