About Us

The Guardsmen Tree Lot Tradition

Every year since 1947 the Guardsmen organization has sold christmas trees in San Francisco to send at-risk youth to summer camps. As an all volunteer organization, its members take time away from work in December to don green jump suits, drive delivery trucks, and get their hands dirty with sap - handling and standing Christmas trees.

Now running for 63 consecutive years, the Tree Lot was our first ever fund raising event and got the organization started. Over the last 6 decades, it has grown into a San Francisco holiday tradition where several generations of families have bought their Christmas tree and at the same time supported their community.

The proceeds from this tradition have enabled tens of thousands of kids to attend summer camps who otherwise would never have had the opportunity. Thank you for participating with us in this tradition. We look forward to seeing you again this year - and from The Guardsmen - Happy Holidays!

The Guardsmen Organization

The Guardsmen started in 1947 when an active group of civic-minded young professionals in San Francisco joined together to assess how they could impact the lives of disadvantaged children by creating opportunities to build life skills and make positive contributions to the community. Membership is through word-of-mouth and active members must be under 40 and meet an annual volunteer commitment. Since its inception, The Guardsmen has impacted hundreds of thousands of students through its scholarship and campership programs. Today, there are 150 active Guardsmen and more than 700 senior Guardsmen who collectively raise over $1.5 million annually through their volunteer efforts. As an all volunteer organization with minimal administrative costs, approximately 90 cents of every donated dollar goes directly to providing:

• Annually The Guardsmen send over 2,500 Bay Area inner-city youth to summer camp. They experience nature and outdoor activities which allow them experiences unavailable in the city.
• The Guardsmen fund 260 scholarships for at-risk students to attend private education. The Guardsmen is a 501(c)(3) corporation which receives no state or federal assistance and does not have any fund-raising organization affiliation.