By Kate Barker

Have you bought your Christmas tree yet? If not, you might want to help out your neighborhood school's parent teacher association (PTA) at the same time.

Thanks to Valrico resident David Morrow, the lot on the corner of Lumsden Rd. and Parsons Ave. splits the proceeds of all Christmas tree sales with 12 local schools.

"It started when my son went to Alafia Elementary School. I used my lot to sell pumpkins and gave a percentage of the proceeds to the school. Then in 1998 we started doing Christmas trees and every year more schools have added on," says Morrow, who is also an insurance agent and plans to eventually build an office on the lot.

The lot offers a wide selection of different types of trees, starting as low as $29, including Frasier firs from North Carolina and Douglas and Noble firs from Oregon. There are also wreaths, poinsettias and tree stands available at the lot for competitive prices.

"We have a lot of people who come back and buy their tree from us every year," says Morrow. "They really like that by buying something they would want anyway they can help out their local school."

After picking out their tree, customers can just tell the sales person which school they would like the proceeds to go to; Morrow and his staff do the rest.

Buckhorn Elementary is one of the local schools participating in the event. PTA representative Lynea D'Angelo says, "Buckhorn PTA appreciates David's generosity helping the schools and community."

In addition, Morrow is offering the use of his lot to any school or non-profit for fundraisers thoughout the year.