'Tis the Season: Gold's Giving Tree

In the lead-up to each holiday season, Woodstock-based Chattahoochee Gold swim club displays its festive "giving trees" on deck at the three facilities where it trains its swimmers: Woodstock Aquatic Center downtown, Mountain View Aquatic Center in Marietta and Cumming Aquatic Center in Forsyth County. From there, members of the Gold swim community play Santa, plucking tags from the trees to help those in need.

In addition to area families that have fallen on hard times, Chattahoochee Gold has adopted Georgia Poodle Rescue, an organization that cares for as many as two dozen rescued dogs at any given time.

And this year, Gold is helping an incredible group of athtletes, the USA Bobsled national team. The team is traveling around the world with the goal of competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. One of those athletes is Macy Tarlton who's been both a swimmer and coach for Chattahoochee Gold. While the USA Bobsled Federation does cover some of the national team's expenses, the athletes must still raise money for costs like airfare, housing and for shipping sleds. Chattahoochee Gold owner Beth Murphy says Macy "needs help to keep her dream alive long enough to make it to the Olympic Winter Games. Let's help her get there and we can watch her compete for GOLD, knowing we helped."