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The Road Home Apple Tree Campaign

It’s that time of year again–The Advocates are thrilled to partner with The Road Home resource centers to bring back The Apple Tree Campaign for its third annual donation drive. We are honored to do our part to help children in need in Salt Lake City and its surrounding areas.

What is The Road Home?

The Road Home is a nonprofit social services agency that helps individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake City and along the Wasatch Front. Their mission is to “help people step out of homelessness and back into our community.” 

The Road Home operates three separate shelters in the Salt Lake Valley– the Men’s Resource Center, the Gail Miller Resource Center, and the Midvale Family Resource Center. These shelters provide services such as beds, showers, meals, laundry, and donated clothing. They also help provide individuals with connections to services in the community, such as job training, substance use treatment, mental health treatment, childcare services, and more. 

In the last year alone, The Road Home assisted thousands of Utahns with housing and employment. They partner with The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to provide assistance to local veterans experiencing homelessness. They also operate several apartment buildings to help those experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.

What is the Apple Tree Campaign?

The Apple Tree Campaign is an annual donation drive to help children experiencing homelessness receive the items they need to return to school this fall. The goal of the campaign is to help the children staying at The Road Home return to school with confidence. Each year, the Apple Tree Campaign provides hundreds of school-aged children with the school supplies, clothing, and hygiene items they need to start the year.

Cardboard trees have been set up at The Advocates offices in three Utah cities. Each tree has 100 apples that each list the age, size, and clothing/supply needs of one child in the community. Anyone can drop by and pick an apple, purchase the listed supplies, and drop them off at our office. All donations will go directly to that child via The Road Home.

The campaign aims to provide each child with the following clothing items:

  • 1 backpack (durable and good quality)
  • 2 pairs of pants (jeans or joggers; no shorts please)
  • 2 shirts
  • 1 hoodie
  • Multi-pack of socks
  • Multi-pack of underwear
  • 1 pair of sturdy shoes 

Additionally, children in grades 6 and up will be provided with a hygiene kit. The kits, put together in gallon-size resealable plastic bags, include the following:

  • Cloth masks
  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste (travel or small size)
  • Dental floss
  • Deodorant
  • Comb, brush or foldable brush with mirror on back
  • Unbreakable mirror
  • Lip balm
  • Individual packs of Kleenex
  • Small lotions
  • Breath mints
  • Hair scrunchies or elastic bands

The 2023 Apple Tree Campaign begins on July 3rd and runs through July 31st.

Campaign Details

Where

Trees have been set up at three of our Utah offices.

Ogden: 533 26th St, Ogden, UT 84401

Murray: 737 E Winchester St, Salt Lake City, UT 84107

American Fork: 388 W Main St, American Fork, UT 84003

When

July 3-31, 2023

How to help

Drop by an office and pick an apple off the tree in the lobby. Purchase the supplies listed on the apple and return the items to The Advocates office. We’ll get your donations to The Road Home.

If you are unable to pick an apple from the tree, you may make a monetary donation at The Road Home’s website. Volunteers with The Road Home will do the shopping for you based on the children’s back-to-school needs. 100% of donations go to the kids at The Road Home. You may also make purchases from the campaign’s Amazon wishlist.