Tree sales branch out to Toys for Tots

Tree sales, toy collection continue until Christmas Eve

by Karen Keefe
Grand Island Dispatch, December 3, 2004

Mindy and Jason Koschuk of K Contracting and Landscaping, and their son, Sebastian, 3, get into the Christmas spirit with their Toys for Tots campaign in connection with holiday tree sales at 2035 Baseline Road.

Christmas tree customers can put a little something extra under the tree for needy kids, thanks to a special connection established by an Island company.

This is second year K Contracting and Landscaping has sold the holiday trees, and it’s also the second year Toys for Tots has benefited from the sales. The children’s gift drive is sponsored nationally by the U.S. Marine Corps.

Tree Discount for Toys

Each customer who brings in a new, unwrapped toy receives a 10 percent discount on any tree on the lot, said Mindy Koschuk, of K Contracting. She and her husband, Jason, have a year-round business with an extra sparkle around this time of year. Douglas firs and blue spruce trees of all shapes and sizes fill the lot at 2035 Baseline Road, across from St. Stephen’s Church. All the trees are grown in Western New York.

Jason Koschuk has had the landscaping and contracting business on the Island since 1992. The landscaping service ranges from simple lawn-cutting to seeding, putting down topsoil, stone and mulch, flower bed design and installation and Bobcat work.

Since K Contracting does snow-plowing, the 10 percent discount for a toy donation can also apply to new snow-plowing customers who sign a contract for the season.

Teamwork In Business

“Jason and I work together as a team,” Mindy said. She enjoys dealing with the customers by phone, doing the billing and providing public relations support, while her husband has the hands-on job of full-service landscaping, plowing and contracting. During Christmas tree season, she gets to meet some of the same year-round customers face-to-face.

Customer service is a hallmark of their business. Their ad in the Grand Island phone book reads, “Give us a call. ... We will call you back.” And when they do, some customers are surprised.

“No one ever calls me back,” Mindy said, pointing out how they’ll respond, “ ‘I’ll call six people, and you’re the only person who got back to me.’ ”

The Koschuks juggle their business chores with the responsibilities of raising two tots of their own, Sebastian, age 3, and Skylar, 6 weeks.

Many Happy Returns

The tree lot is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends, through Christmas Eve. The season started right after Thanksgiving. “Everybody that came up this weekend was a return customer,” Mindy said. “They were so happy with our trees.

“Some people come up and donate toys and don’t even buy a tree,” she added.

Last year, the Koschuks collected about 70 toys. “We’d like to double that,” she said, noting how they bought more trees this year. Mindy hopes that means not only more business, but also more Toys for Tots.