Until recently, the Christmas tree in the front office of The Tidewater News was surrounded by bags and boxes of toys, food and clothes. Early holiday presents for the staff? Of course not.

Instead, they were your contributions to the paper’s holiday project of collecting for Community Harvest Outreach Inc., which is based in Windsor.

Then midweek, one of our advertising executives loaded everything — and we mean everything — into her car and delivered them safely to the agency.

There, the clothes, food and toys were unloaded and ready to be sorted that evening or next.

The distribution took place on Saturday where parents could find gifts or needed supplies for their families.

Organizations such as CHO are an asset to Windsor and the rest of Western Tidewater for the matter. They look to your compassion and generosity to help other individuals and families in need year round.

On behalf of the CHO, thank you for your gifts; we’re sure they will be most appreciated.

To learn more about the organization, call 556-5403 or email communityharvestoutreach@verizon.net. There’s also a website, www.communityharvestoutreach.org.