KIDS THESE DAYS:

What I am about to tell you isn’t likely to make the pages of this or any other newspaper. It’s just a story about 10 good kids who united on Sunday for a common purpose.

Two days ago, Marc DeFrenza, Ryan Boselo, Josh Dominguez, Victor Silva, Jeffrey Guillen, Troy McClanahan, Eddie Tomasek, Ryan Cherney, Derek Cherney and Gavin Montague, members of the Estancia High School baseball team, met at a Costa Mesa park to canvass the neighborhood.

They were to spend the next couple of hours trying to sell Christmas trees to raise money for the baseball program.

Selling Christmas trees door-to-door is not easy. Many families have an annual ritual they perform that involves scissors, rope and driving to multiple lots.

Our family is no different. Although our selection has been limited the past few years to one nearby lot, it’s a trip we all enjoy and everyone has a part to play.

Sometimes the roles evolve.

When he was young, my son was limited to helping me hold up trees for Mom to review.

Because Mom is usually the one who does most of the decorating, she has the right of first refusal on all prospective trees.

So my son would stand next to the tree holding the trunk while my wife and daughter gave it the once-over.

Now that he’s 15, he helps me hoist the tree onto the car’s roof.

This year, however, there will not be a trip to the lot and very little scrutinizing. This year, we are buying our tree from the baseball team.

For a family that has been buying trees the old way for more than 20 years, this is a big move.

The tree we are buying will be delivered to the high school for pick-up no more than three days after it has been cut at a tree farm in Oregon. With so little time between harvest and delivery, I expect to see snow on the branches when we take it home.

The thought of taking a tree with a limited number of choices is a little disconcerting, but one unsolicited testimonial from Sunday’s walk pushed me over the edge.

“Our tree was so fresh that it smelled wonderful throughout the holidays,” Taffy Guillen said.

But there is another reason to buy things locally. This is the time of year when the fundraisers bloom throughout Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. Whether it is cookie dough, holiday wrapping, candy or trees, many PTAs and teams are trying hard to raise money for their cause.

Before you spend any money shopping this year, I urge you to check with your local schools and teams to find out what holiday fundraisers they have. And if they are providing something you can use, buy it from them, even if it costs a little more. In the long run, I promise you that if you do pay a bit more, you will reap the dividend in better schools and better kids.

If you are in a position to tell me about your fundraiser, please do so as I plan to list them in an upcoming column. The only catch is that the holiday fundraiser must support an organization with a solid connection to Costa Mesa or Newport Beach.

To alert me to your fundraiser or to order a really fresh Christmas tree that will help a good cause and will be available for pick-up Dec. 8, e-mail me at [email protected].

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to [email protected].