A surge of Christmas season generosity is helping a Boy Scout troop in Dale City recover from the theft of $1,500 worth of Christmas trees, as supporters from as far away as Alaska pledge their support to the boys.

The troop has been selling trees in Forestdale Plaza in Dale City every winter since the early 1980s. The money raised this year will send the five boys in the troop, ages 11 to 17, to a weeklong scout camp in the summer.

The troop set up 300 Balsam fir trees from Nova Scotia in the plaza Nov. 19. When the tree lot opened Nov. 23, they discovered that 34 trees were missing.

Doug Doerr, the troop’s scoutmaster and a retired Marine Corps helicopter pilot, said the boys were disappointed, but the community has been supportive.

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Seven people have given $300 in donations. And the troop has received promises of checks from individuals as far away as Alaska and Illinois.

“The graciousness of people will far overshadow the theft of the trees,” Doerr said.

The Prince William County police are reviewing surveillance tapes from surrounding businesses, including a SunTrust Bank, but have no leads.

“The economy’s not good right now. ... Somebody probably took the trees and set them up on a street corner, selling them for $20 each. It’s pure profit for them,” Doerr said.

The troop sells trees for $30 to $60 each.

The scouts work at the lot in shifts and split the money from the sales based on how much time they worked. The camp costs $200 to $300 per scout.

The tree lot is in Forestdale Plaza at the corner of Dale Boulevard and Minnieville Road. It is open from 6 to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends through Dec. 24.