It’s the time of year when people are hustling, bustling and trying to find the perfect tree for the holiday season.
This year, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co., helped by its partnership with a Centretown-based charity for at-risk youth, is selling its own Christmas trees, with the promise to plant a tree in Ontario with each purchase.
The Norfolk Island pines resemble spruce trees and come in ceramic vases repurposed from old Beau’s beer bottles.
Operation Come Home, at 150 Gloucester St., supports teenagers and young adults who have left home and may be living on the streets or in other difficult circumstances.
Beau’s provides opportunities for some of these at-risk and street-involved youth age 19 and up to assist with product delivery and administrative work.
Operation Come Home was eager to sell the evergreens through Beau's website, says the charity's co-manager of operations, Lynda Franc.
“Beau’s is always surprising me with their new and creative ideas,” she says.
Although Beau’s receives the money for the cost of the tree, the $15 delivery fee goes to Operation Come Home, with $8.25 returned to the customer as a charitable tax receipt.
Korina Tkachenko, a marketing and communications officer at Beau’s, says the company looked at a few different options when choosing the type of tree to sell.
It decided the Norfolk Island pine was the right fit.
The evergreen is native to a tiny island near New Zealand called Norfolk, and can grow indoors for many years.
This tropical plant can’t handle the harsh winter temperatures outdoors, but it is considered an excellent alternative to cutting down a Christmas tree because it can be reused as a houseplant when the holidays are over.
“We kind of liked the Charlie Brown aspect to it,” Tkachenko says, referring to the small, spindly tree portrayed in the animated Christmas classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
“It’s a little bit dysfunctional and a little bit quirky, kind of like us,” she says.
The pines are now available for purchase, but the family-run brewery has yet to determine the species of tree to plant in their place.
Tkachenko says Beau’s is still looking for the best company to hire for the tree planting.
Customers can buy the Norfolk Island pines at Beau’s retail store, which is located about an hour outside of Ottawa in Vankleek Hill or online through Buy Your Beau’s Online.
The youth of Operation Come Home receive paid employment through Buy Your Beau's Online.
They also receive valuable work experience, access to social supports including mental health and addictions resources and help with finding housing.
The pine’s branches aren’t meant to hold heavy ornament, but people have discovered unique ideas to make the trees holiday-ready.
“My girlfriend actually opted to put a disco laser light underneath it,” says Beau's retail sales manager Jennifer Paquette.
“She made that the lights of her Christmas tree,” she says.
Franc says that buying a Norfolk Island pine from Beau’s would be a great way to go green this holiday season.
Ordering one online is a win-win, she says.
“Christmas is about giving,” explains Franc.
“You’re not only giving to whoever you’re giving the gift to, but you’re giving to whoever Beau’s is helping out as well.”