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The Guardsmen Christmas tree lot now in its 70th year has become a staple of the holiday season. (Photo courtesy The Guardsmen)
November 1, 2018
Tom Burke
For 70 years many Christmas trees in San Francisco have served double duty as bright company for the gifts under them, and as a source of aid to young beneficiaries throughout the Bay Area. The Guardsmen this year will sell more than 6,000 Christmas trees at their Fort Mason tree lot with the $500,000 raised funding a campership program sending underprivileged children to summer camp, and scholarships for underprivileged children attending private schools in San Francisco.
“The volunteer effort for this event is monumental,” Steve Scharf of the Guardsmen told Catholic San Francisco. “Our team completes every task at Fort Mason from unloading thousands of trees by hand the day after Thanksgiving, to managing complicated logistics of customer service deliveries.” Hundreds of volunteers donate thousands of volunteer hours, Scharf said.
“We have a great relationship with the Guardsmen as we are one of the many Catholic schools who receive scholarship dollars from the Guardsmen fundraising efforts,” said Tim Szarnicki, vice president for mission advancement at San Francisco’s ICA Cristo Rey and chair of the Guardsmen volunteers. Tim’s dad was also a Guardsmen. “I have a long history with all the work they do,” Tim said. “I even received my ‘Christian Service Hours’ serving at the tree lot when I was at Notre Dame des Victoires school.”
Guardsmen president Greg Varni spoke with Catholic San Francisco via email on the history of the group and the tree lot. The Guardsmen were started in 1947 by seven men, Varni said, and today has 1,000 members. The tree lot began in 1948 and during the 70 ensuing years more than 200,000 trees have been sold there.
“The funds we raise provide tuition assistance, for both camps and schools, to low-income students,” Varni said. “Funds must be spent on the kids, funds cannot be spent on employee salaries, capital projects or saved in endowments.”
The Guardsmen partners with more than 20 local schools. Boys and Girls Club and CYO Camp are two of the group’s largest campership partners.
“With Guardsmen funding, Catholic Charities CYO Summer Camp provided 352 camperships to economically disadvantaged youth this summer,” said Rich Garcia, CYO Camp director. “Each of these children had the opportunity to learn and grow through formative experiences with nature, youth mentors, and children of diverse backgrounds from throughout the Bay Area.”
Any Bay Area private school that has a program to support low income youth is eligible, Varni said. Youth ages 5-18 in a family at, or below, federal poverty guidelines may apply for a camp scholarship. More than 150,000 youth have benefited from Guardsmen funds since the group’s founding.
“The Guardsmen tree lot is entirely enclosed and decorated so guests enjoy seasonal treats with holiday music while selecting from the largest selection of trees in Northern California,” Varni said.
“The Guardsmen will continue to build on its heritage, ever-mindful of the changing and expanding needs of at-risk youth, and their importance to our future,” the Guardsmen said on their website.
The Guardsmen tree lot is located at Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco, from Nov. 24-Dec. 14, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Information about the Guardsmen and their work is available at www.guardsmen.org; info@guardsmen.org; (415) 856-0939.