When Christine Benedum and her family decorated their Christmas tree in early November, they had boxes of ornaments left over. But instead of discarding them, they decided to donate the decorations to a family that needed them more.

They thought, “well, it doesn’t just have to be ornaments. We could do a lot more stuff,” said Benedum’s son Grant, a freshman at La Salle College High School.

That idea grew into Giving Garland, a charity that collects unused or gently used holiday decorations to provide to local families and keep holiday items out of landfills.

The family — Grant, Christine and her husband, Tyler — partnered with Norwood-Fontbonne Academy (NFA) and Our Mother of Consolation Parish (OMC) to collect items and spread the word about Giving Garland. OMC keeps donation boxes at the church and NFA held a drive at its holiday gathering on Dec. 3.

Since mid-November, the Benedums’ project has collected at least 1,000 items.

“This was only going to be the ‘collection year.’ Because we didn’t want to promise a family anything,” Benedum, who works in Chestnut Hill, said at the NFA event. “But then everybody was so generous and we got so many things. I wasn’t expecting there to be this level of Christmas.”

The project is supplying decorations and new gifts to three families, with whom Benedum connected through word-of-mouth, Nextdoor and social services, she said. These include a relative caring for a child whose parent is incarcerated and a refugee family.

“Those families have expressed that holiday decorations are behind other priorities such as shelter, groceries, and school-related expenses. But they want to give their family a cheerful Christmas and have been advocates to make that happen,” Benedum said.

Brooke Skowronski, one of the recipients, fled an abusive household two years ago and since then, she has been rebuilding from scratch to support her four daughters (ages 1-17). In addition, the North Wales resident said her entire bank account was recently wiped clean by a hacker and she suffered a foot injury. And by mid-November, the government shutdown had frozen her paycheck and SNAP benefits.

The combination of those situations led her to post a request for donations on Nextdoor, where she connected with Benedum.

“At first it was a little hard asking for help. My pride kind of got in the way. And then I thought about my kids and I thought, what am I going to tell them?” she said.

Giving Garland connected Skowronski with a family that gave her a tree, decorations and lights. Benedum also plans on providing stockings and presents for daughters. Skowronski described the family and Benedum as “Christmas angels.”

Skowronski said decorations and traditions have always been an important part of the holiday season for her. Her late grandmother would decorate every corner of the house in a Martha Stewart-like way. She wants to give the same joy to her kids.

“And the community knows that. It’s really great,” she said.

Giving Garland is accepting donations until the end of January 2026. The Benedums, who live in Glenside, hope to help more families and gain more partners in future holiday seasons.

“It has been touching to see the generosity of the community and hear the stories behind the decorations,” Benedum said in an email. “People are giving without concern for recognition… selfless acts.”

Megan Stotz, the STEM teacher and technology integration specialist at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, commended Grant, her former student, and his family for finding a way to reduce the amount of waste around the holidays. Household garbage tends to increase by 25% during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“I really think we should have a shared mindset to be in a circular economy and make our own daily decisions of, what can we do to make sure that we’re not just using it and tossing it?” she said. “I think it’s really important that in order for something like this to happen, you have to have empathy at the core. And that’s what Grant does.”

Giving Garland accepts artificial trees and wreaths, ornaments, garland, wrapping paper, holiday lights and dinnerware. Two collection boxes have been placed at the church: one in the vestibule and one in the parish office.