13-year-old Walpole boy building pallet Christmas trees to support a severely injured friend

WALPOLE, Mass. — The goodness in people is shining brightly in Walpole. That community is rallying around a 13-year-old boy who was badly injured in an accident.

What started out as a way to show his support has grown into an incredible outpouring of support from the entire community.

Evan McGrew has a steady hand cutting wooden pallets in the driveway of his Walpole home.

“We both love building things together so I thought I’d build something for him,” he said.

The 7th grader is raising money by building pallet Christmas trees and selling them to help support his close friend Greyson Beauregard. On October 31st, only weeks after his 13th birthday, Greyson suffered a traumatic recreational accident. His injuries were so severe, he’s unable to walk.

“We can’t do enough to continue to spread the word and make sure Greyson and his family get what they need to support him,” said Mark McGrew, Evan’s father.

That support has been immense, from strangers dropping-off a pallet to a local nursery donating a dump truck full of pallets. The McGrews have made and sold more than 380 trees, so far. Their front yard has been transformed into a mini Christmas tree farm.

“As we filled them we turned them green and we just added to the waitlist,” Mark McGrew said.

That waitlist is more than 200 people. It’s so long McGrew keeps track with an Excel spreadsheet. “It’s really brought the community together in a time of darkness and really made us realize we live in a special place in Walpole,” he said.

The trees have lit up Walpole and nearby communities. Many homes have decorated them to show their support to Greyson and his family. Evan is selling the trees for a minimum $30 donation. So far, he’s raised more than $13,000. Each tree has written on the back #goalsforgreyson.

“I know Greyson has a lot of friends and a lot of people who don’t even know him are supporting us and that’s very nice,” Evan said.

The McGrew’s said they are ending the project this weekend and are already sold out of trees, but if you would like to donate to a GoFundMe page set up for Greyson and his family, you can here.

Cox Media Group