To everybody who worked with us this year as Santa’s helpers: 11,900 children thank you.
The Sun-Times Charity Trust has just about wrapped up its annual Letters to Santa program for another season, and we’re happy to report we had our most successful year in more than a decade.
In all, 1,477 individuals signed up and provided gifts to 4,456 Chicago public school children. And 109 companies provided gifts to another 7,444 school kids.
The Sun-Times Letters to Santa program each year matches more than 10,000 school children with volunteers who purchase gifts, valued at about $25, and deliver them to the kids’ schools. The children write letters to Santa asking for toys, but sometimes also for coats and shoes and the like. We send the letters to our volunteer elves, who do the rest.
For us, the second best part of the program — after the sheer fun of making a child’s holiday more memorable — might be the letters and emails we get from volunteers.
“My two grandsons, ages 6 and 9, have agreed that my husband I should purchase Christmas gifts for two children rather than give Chanukah gifts to my grandsons,” wrote one participant, Sheryle Kayser. “Each grandchild will come with me to purchase the presents. I am so proud of my grandsons wanting to do this. In years past, I’ve sent a check to the Charity Trust, but I feel this is more meaningful in teaching my grandsons to give to others.”
“Please, I would like a letter from one boy and one girl, as my son shops for the boy and my daughter shops for the girl,” wrote Amber Grobarek. “We have been doing this for 10 years and my kids love to do it. Thanks.”
“I just wanted to let you know that my daughter Litsa, a freshman at St. Ignatius College Prep, submitted to her service group that she help read [the letters from children], organized our shopping trip and wrapped and delivered our presents,” wrote Demetra Douvas. “This is part of our family tradition.”
As it happens, the children’s letters occasionally get delayed in the mail, and emails to volunteers are sometimes overlooked or sent to spam folders, so the Charity Trust maintains a special fund — the Empty Stocking Fund — to pay for last-minute gifts. No child should miss out.
If you would like to contribute to the Empty Stocking Fund, which also helps cover administrative costs, please go to suntimes.com/santa.
“Letters to Santa is a highlight of our year at the Sun-Times,” Nykia Wright, Interim CEO of the Sun-Times and a Sun-Times Charity Trust Trustee, told us. “Rallying thousands of our readers and neighbors to serve Chicagoland students is a huge honor — and we’re so grateful to our community for supporting the program.”
Are you familiar, by the way, with Chicago Reads, our summer reading program for kids? Each spring, the charity trust works with Sun-Times readers to put books into the hands of thousands of children going home from school for the summer.
But more on that later.
Thanks again. And happy holidays!
Send letters to: letters@suntimes.com.
