Elizabeth Martin has been a Festival of Trees designer for years. Elizabeth was celebrating a milestone birthday several years ago and decided to volunteer to give back to the community and to commemorate this birthday year. She chose Children’s Hospital of Michigan’s (CHM) Festival of Trees as her volunteer effort.

Elizabeth was born with a rare, unnamed genetic disorder, and was diagnosed with an intellectual and developmental disabilities. CHM was critical to her healthcare when she was younger and in early adulthood. CHM provided quality medical care and essential ancillary services including physical, speech, and occupational
therapy. There were many CHM physicians and therapists that were instrumental in supporting Elizabeth, including Dr. Michael Nigro, Dr. Jay Eastman, Dr. Burton Perry, Dr. James Gutai, Pat Nizio, Terry Ricket, and Gretchen Swanson. Elizabeth and her family truly value all that CHM provided her and wanted to give back, supporting CHM to help other children with disabilities and their families. For the past several years, Elizabeth has been a Tree Designer for the annual CHM Festival of Trees event. She has designed trees with several themes including Children from Around the World, A Bear tree with Steiff Bears, A Santa themed tree, and an Outdoor Adventure themed tree. Elizabeth is a ceramic artist and intentionally creates
ceramic ornaments to include in her tree designs. Some of Elizabeth’s tree designs have been recognized by the Festival of Trees and received an award.