CALGARY -- Calgarians sick of staring at their dry and wilting Christmas trees can once again call the Tree Tossers.
"Our goal is always more … a thousand is what we’re aiming for," said Todd "Bo" Luker, one of the group’s founders.
The Tree Tossers are made up of seven "lumberjacks" who will pick up discarded trees from anywhere in the city.
Calgarians can register their address and preferred pickup time on the Tree Tosser website.
The services comes with a $17 fee but a portion of that is directed to charity every year.
"It has changed the whole concept of why we originally started it, which was the convenience and the opportunity for us," said Kevin "Pierre" Coan.
"But the charitable aspect has been the most rewarding part of it."
This year, the charitable portion of the Tree Tossers’ collections will be given to the family of Madelyn Walker.
The six-year-old was recently diagnosed with Moya Moya, a rare condition that causes the arteries in the brain to narrow, triggering strokes.
She’s already undergone one brain surgery and is scheduled to have another one.
A parallel GoFundMe campaign is also being run for the family, raising money so they can take time off work to care for Madelyn and their other children during treatment.
"The fear associated with this condition has been so intense that taking off the burden about worrying about finances is enormous," said Crystal Walker, Madelyn’s mother. "I can’t even describe what it means."
The tree tossers will be on the job through the entire month of January.
