Daily News from New York, New York • 146

1 0 Business DAILY NEWS Sunday, December 11, 1988 caiases to unit every giver Anyone can combine Christmas with charity. Trees to support the Convent of the Sacred Heart Girls School or Bedford-Stuy-vesant's Bread and Life Soup Kitchen are on sale now. The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and the Gay Men's Health Crisis, an AIDS support organization, offer charity opportunities for the The following list describes the items offered and where and how to get them: The Convent of the Sacred Heart Girls School. 91st St Fifth 722-4745. About 50 of a Christmas tree purchase from Sacred Heart goes into the building fund.

The school is housed in two landmarks, the Otto Kahn building, which dates from 1917, and the James Burden Mansion, 1904, which was a I 1 1 1 IP, i Ii 1 'If Sri SvT A-W-. iff wedding gift from Andrew Carnegie to his daughter. The buildings require a great deal of upkeep and ongoing restoration, said a spokeswoman. The trees available include pine, Scotch pine, Douglas fir and Blue spruce. Prices range from $50 to $80 a tree.

The school also has wreaths for sale and provides delivery there is a charge for a large part of Manhattan. Delta Theta Chi at St. John's University. Union Turnpike at Utopia Parkway, Queens, (718) 990-6161, ext. 539a This is the 23d year that the brothers of Delta Theta Chi have sold Christmas trees.

Event chairman Stuart Carver said they expect to raise about $6,000 for the Bread and Life Soup Kitchen. The Bedford-Stuyvesant organization serves 500 hot lunches daily for the homeless. The fraternity staffs the tree sales around the clock, through gate 3 to the University on Utopia Parkway. Trees include balsams, plantation sheers and Scotch pines. Prices are roughly $8 a foot Prices come down a bit for the tallest trees with a 15 footer going for between $90 and $100.

The American Cancer Society, New York City Division. 19 W. 56th St, 586-8700, ext 354. The American Cancer Society has Christmas cards at their midtown office. Prices range from $10 through $40 for a box of 25.

A portion of one's purchase may be tax deductible. Cash and credit cards are accepted in the receptionist's area, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The American Heart Asso- ROBERT ROSAMIUO DAILY NEWS Christmas card program. flGay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) 129 West 20th St, 337-3519 The GMHC, an AIDS support service, education and advocacy organization has a holiday gift card designed Richard Martino.

The card indicates a donation has been made in the name of its recipient The per-card minimum donation is $5 and there is no minimum order. Call the above number for an order form and GMHC will handle the mailing if you wish. You can also pick the cards up from their office. -Compiled By N. ALEXANDER a' TAKING OUT A CONTRIBUTION: Shoppers help the landmark building restoration fund at Sacred Heart Girls School by purchasing Christmas trees.

robert rosamiuo daily news ciation. 205 E. 42d St, 661-5335. The American Heart Association, New York City Affiliate has developed two cards that can be sent to friends and loved ones as part of a contribution to the fund. The recipient's card states that a donation has been made in his name.

The per-card donation minimum is $1 plus postage if you want the association to handle mailing and there is no minimum order. Donations above the minimum are welcome. To place an order, telephone the number above and ask for the now employs 600. In March operations began at Hudson Valley Tree's plant in Evansville, Ind. Spiegel says that plant, which employs 200, is near most of their Midwest customers.

Spiegel says as far as he knows, the firm's factories the only ones in the nation designed specifically for manufacturing artificial Christmas trees. The company sells a variety of trees ranging in size from two to 25 feet high and from $40 to $300 in price. The most popular size is six feet, which sells for about $75. Lately there's been a strong demand for tall trees. "People who have big homes and big ceilings want that nice big tree," Spiegel said.

Artificial trees were first introduced in the 1950s. Roughly three million are sold each year, Spiegel says. He says most of his competition comes from Asian suppliers of artificial trees and producers of live trees. And real tree growers still consider artificial tree manufacturers their biggest competitors, especially since artificial trees are beginning to look more and more realistic. Artificial trees are made by running rolls of green polyvinyl chloride through a slitter a knifelike machine to form the branches.

A number of the branches are then hand-wrapped into a large branch, or "panel." The soft-spoken Spiegel says he never dreamed of such success when he started in 1982. "I expected a good business, but I didn't think it would be this good," he said. "We originally thought we'd take the higher end of the market and sell locally to department stores and nurseries," he said. But sales are many times higher than originally anticipated. And more than half of the company's merchandise is sold outside New York state to department store chains across the country.

Spiegel attributes his company's success to emphasis on customer service and acceptance of the product "When I first began manufacturing trees in the early 1960s, 95 of the people said they'd never have an artificial tree," he said. It's estimated that close to half of all trees decked out in holiday finery this year will be artificial, according to the National Christmas Tree Association Inc. in Milwaukee. Spiegel has been in the artificial Christmas tree business about 30 years. He was president of American Tree and Wreath, headquartered in Mt Vernon, Vt, until he, Squarci and two others opened their first factory in Newburgh.

The company outgrew that plant within three years and opened a larger one which By LESLIE ZGANJAB The Associated Press NEWBURGH, N.Y. In just six years, Si Spiegel and Larry Squarci have soared to the top of one of Christmas most profit-making indus tries with a product that is tthe scourge of every live Christmas tree producer the artificial tree. Hudson Valley Tree Inc. in Newburgh is one of the nation's largest manufacturers of artificial Christmas trees. In the six years since the company first opened with four employes, the company has grown into a $25 million business employing 800 workers year-round with factories in Newburgh and Indiana..