Beaverton resident marks almost 40 years of Washington Square mall’s Sharing Tree

Published 4:10 pm Tuesday, December 3, 2024

In the 1980s, MaryLou Scheidt was part of a group of volunteers at Washington Square mall who aided in coordinating the decorated trees in the mall by asking 10 mostly children-focused agencies to help out.

Fast forward to 1984, when the former United Airlines flight attendant was approached by mall management to come up with an even larger project — creating a holiday tree containing heart-shaped ornaments listing gift requests for those in need.

As a member of Clipped Wings, a national nonprofit made up of current and former United Airlines flight attendants that now includes other airlines, Scheidt she knew the local chapter was more than ready and willing to take on such a task.

“I said, ‘OK, I can do it, but not this year. So, we started it in ’85,” she said.

Thus was born the Sharing Tree, an annual event that collects and helps to distribute those gifts to eight nonprofit agencies.

Sharing Tree participants

The organizations that the Washington Square mall Sharing Tree benefit include eight local nonprofit agencies: Albertina Kerr, Clackamas County Disability Support Services, Community Action-Healthy Families, Imagine Possibilities, Janus Youth Programs, Lifeworks Northwest, The Arc of Portland Metro, and With Love.

A 20-year Beaverton resident, Scheidt said she was amazed how well that first Sharing Tree season went.

“We were shocked,” she said. “I think we thought we might get 1,000 gifts. We got many more than that.”

Still volunteering today

Scheidt headed up the Sharing Tree program for the first 20 years, a job that she has since turned over to Portland resident Rosalie Betschart, who has overseen the program for the last 20 years. But Scheidt, now 86, still volunteers to help Wednesdays during the Sharing Tree event, which runs through Dec. 24.

“The tags that go the fastest, of course are for babies and toddlers, but one volunteer buys for adults because she thinks maybe they’re not going to be taken as quickly,” she said.

What Scheidt has noticed as well is that when parents come with their children along, it’s the children who often select the tag for the individual they want to help out. Such is the case of Cindy Hofer and her daughter Heidi of Garden Home who were at the Sharing Tree on a recent Wednesday.

“My mom used to bring us here when we were kids and we got to pick out a little ornament (gift request tag) and we’d buy gifts. So, I brought my daughter,” said Hofer. “She got to pick a kid and I picked a single mom.”

Her daughter’s Sharing Tree request came from a 13-year-old child who requested a video game.

“I’m going to pick Super Smash Bros.,” declared Heidi, age 6.

That’s pretty close, Hofer confirmed, but said the plan was to go to a video store gift card so the child could pick out the toy they wanted.

Meanwhile, Hofer said she will buy a gift for the single mom, along with the woman’s daughter who wants some Dora the Explorer toys.

From clothes to electronics

So, what are the most requested Sharing Tree items?

“Pots and pans and dishes for the young teen parents,” said Scheidt. “For the homeless, warm coats and sneakers.”

She said other frequent requests are for headphones. In general, they let the nonprofit agencies know they hope to keep the gift price around $25. They also ask that the gifts be returned in a gift bag and not wrapped.

In the past, there have been unusual donations as well.

“We did get a car one year,” said Scheidt about a vehicle donation in the 1990s. “Someone donated a used van.”

Recently, mall management presented Scheidt with a $500 gift card, a thank you for all the time she has spent trying to make the holidays happier for those in need.

“The Sharing Tree is a pillar of our holiday traditions here at Washington Square. Over the past nearly 40 years, through the efforts of Clipped Wings and MaryLou Scheidt, Washington Square shoppers have donated over 100,000 holiday gifts to local families in need. MaryLou is our Holiday Hero, not just this year, but every year!” Maria Halstead, Washington Square mall manager, said in a statement.