Festival of Trees raffle extended till Tuesday

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's looking a lot like Christmas down at the River Park Shopping Center.

Made For Them, a valley non-profit, is getting ready to raffle off several Christmas trees loaded with gifts.

The money raised from this will go directly back to helping human trafficking survivors.

The raffle was supposed to end on Monday, but they decided to extend into Tuesday.

Throughout the morning, people stopped by to get their chance at winning a tree but also to give back to Made for Them.

"Oh, it's fantastic to give money back to support. It's a great way to come together and share inspiration for the community," says Amanda Gruszczynski.

Gruszcznski and her toddler strolled through to take a look at all the trees.

Many of them are valued at over $1,000, everything from kids' toys to cooking items.

Money raised from the raffle will help start a new re-entry work program called CORE, which stands for Creating Opportunities to Restore and Empower.

"It's an 18th-month work reentry program for survivors of human trafficking. Many of the women and children of most need in our community who experience barriers in life due to past circumstances outside of their control," says Andrea Shabaglian from Made For Them.

heir goal is to raise $10,000. They have not done the final count just yet but leaders say it's been successful.

"It really is a great representation of the Central Valley and we are just so humbled by our community and grateful for their partnership. It's really a partnership," adds Shabaglian.

ABC30 is a sponsor, so check out our tree!

The raffle is Tuesday night, and you don't have to be present to win.