Homeless man’s Christmas tree thrown away by council – his community responds in the most heartfelt way
How would you feel if someone came into your home, grabbed your Christmas tree, and threw it away? Then, when you retrieved it, the culprit returned and threw it away again?
That’s what happened to New Orleans resident John, or “Philly” as the locals know him, a homeless man who resides underneath the Pontchartrain expressway in New Orleans. Philly recently set up a Christmas tree next to his tent, decorating it with battery powered lights and a bow topper, according to local news station WGNO.
Unfortunately for Philly, the city’s sanitation department was ordered to remove the tree, saying it was a code violation. Not his tent or any other of his belongings, specifically the tree. After one of his friends managed to retrieve it from the dumpster in which it was thrown, the sanitation crew came back to collect it a second time. This is when the kindest of the community shone through.
After news broke of the Grinch’s who stole Philly’s Christmas, strangers begun to bring him more Christmas trees, decorations and gifts.
"I don't care what code violation it is," Kelly Caruso, one of the people who donated a tree to Philly, told US news station ABC 13. "It's the holidays. And these people need everything that can uplift them as much as they can."
Watch Philly, in true Christmas spirit, forwarding on the large amount of gifts he has received to others in need.
He did save one of the trees for himself however, decorating it and placing it next to his tent again.
When asked what Christmas means to him, Philly defined it in just two words: "helping others."
Related links:
Grandmother retires after 52 years walking kids to school
9-year-old raises $100,000 for sick kids
Wonderful moment newborn twins meet for the first time