The Giving Tree is set up in the front office of Bromfield. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Each mitten on the Giving Tree offers participants an opportunity to give.

Harvard community members have until Dec. 19 to take part in the second annual charity event, the Giving Tree, sponsored by the student service organization Bromfield Cares.

The Giving Tree can be found at the front office of the Bromfield School with many paper glove decorations attached to it. Messages are written on these colorful glove-like tags with a gift description and the age and gender of a child recipient.

Any member of the community can pick up a paper glove and purchase a gift for an underprivileged child whose family is struggling during the holiday season.

"We get names of children from the [state] Department of Children and Families and a list of what they would like for holiday gifts," said Bromfield senior Mackenzie Klem, one of three student leaders of Bromfield Cares.

Bromfield junior Arpitha Hayes, another Bromfield Cares leader, said, "Each year we are assigned kids and teens ages 1 to 18… The Giving Tree benefits each of these kids directly."

Last year, the Giving Tree was a great success, with 184 gift donations.

"Because of our high turnout last year, we have even more names to donate gifts to," Patricia Nilan, the club's faculty advisor, said. "Many recipients are very local, so this is a great chance to get involved with our community."

Klem said that one of Giving Tree's primary missions is "to get everyone in the community to be aware of how many parents aren't able to give their children gifts for the holidays and how a small donation can go a long way."

Klem also reflected on the impact the event has had on her own mindset.

"Most of us go day to day just thinking about what's best for us," she said. "We are too busy with our lives to stop and look around and see how fortunate we are… Being the leader of Bromfield Cares has made me realize how lucky I am to have such a wonderful life and how I want to do everything I possibly can to help others and make others realize as well what they can do to help."

According to Hayes, Bromfield Cares has agreed to purchase the gifts not purchased by community members with Giving Tree monetary donations and money that the club has raised independently.

Once known as Bromfield Against Cancer, Bromfield Cares's name change reflects its broadening mission to not just the fight against cancer, but to also promote human welfare. The Giving Tree is just one of the many projects overseen by this unique club, one of the largest student-run organizations at the Bromfield School.

"[Bromfield Cares] allows us to really make a difference in a variety of different organizations," Hayes said. "It is wonderful to see the impact that we have on all we touch and how rewarding it is to every club member."