Jessica Roland will take on the task at 9am on Sunday, when the lights are put up on the Weighbridge roundabout mast. In the case of bad weather the work will be postponed for a week.
The lights will then be switched on at 6pm on Friday 27 November by siblings Emily, 8, and Charlie, 5, whose father is undergoing treatment for cancer.
The children are supported by the Youth Commission’s Navigators service, which helps children with a parent who has a serious illness.
The tree is the centrepiece of the Rotary Club of Guernsey’s present-giving campaign, now in its 32nd year. Around 17,000 children are estimated to have received a Christmas present through it since 1994.
‘The knowledge that children who might not have received a present will now open one on Christmas Day is what motivates us,’ said club president Jane Rowe.
‘We are extremely grateful to our sponsors and supporters, and of course to the people of Guernsey who provide the presents.’
Agencies give the club the names of children from families facing financial hardship. Each child’s name is written on a tag with a suggested present, and the tags are hung on smaller trees around the island.
Islanders can pick a tag from 18 November, buy the present and return it wrapped to the same place by 9 December. Rotary suggests a limit of £30, and the scheme is for children up to the age of 12, although exceptions are made for older siblings.
Tags will be available at Creasey’s Toy Shop, which will also wrap presents, Aladdin’s Cave, Guernsey Post in the Arcade, and Fletcher Sports in the Arcade and St Sampson’s. They will also be at the Coop in St Martin’s and St Sampson’s, NatWest and HSBC in the High Street, HSBC in St Martin’s, Barclays in St Julian’s Avenue, Becky Rowe Jewellers in St Martin’s, and Luisa Beauty Salon at La Villette Hotel.
Members of Inner Wheel sort the presents, and Rotary members take them to the agencies, which deliver them so that the children’s identities are protected.
The lights are sponsored by PwC, Butterfield and Savills.
The club will also hold its flag days on 27 and 28 November, with collectors in St Peter Port and outside shops and supermarkets around the island.
The money raised buys food at Christmas for local families and pensioners struggling with the cost-of-living.
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