HILLSBORO, Ore.- Members of the Washington County District Attorney’s Office showed their generosity and commitment to the community through their participation in the Tree of Giving campaign. Office staff helped fill donation requests for 40 children and collected hats, scarves, socks, gloves, blankets and toiletries for distribution at severe weather shelters across the area.

The effort to collect toys and other items for needy children was launched by Larry Eisele in the 1980’s and has grown ever since. Designed to help Washington County children in the foster care system, coordinators from the county work closely with the SCOTTY Foundation to help brighten the holidays for these children.

District Attorney Kevin Barton says his staff jump at the chance to give back.

“The Tree of Giving campaign is something that all of us in the DA’s Office look forward to being part of every year.  So much of our daily work deals with crime and its impact on the community that having an opportunity to make a child’s holiday season brighter is a true pleasure,” Barton said.

Heather Robinson with Washington County Solid Waste & Recycling took over the program in 2005 and has helped ensure its success ever since. In all, she says county employees donated toys for 400 local foster kids in addition to the 375 items that will be used in severe weather shelters.

If you’d like to learn more about the program, visit the SCOTTY Foundation’s website.