One of Globe Santa's greatest joys each year is seeing firsthand how so many thousands of people step forward to help him bring Christmas joy to thousands of children in families that face serious financial problems and cannot provide gifts for their youngsters.
The ways in which these contributors help vary greatly, but no matter how they give, Globe Santa feels fortunate to have so many loyal friends who contribute to his annual mission of making sure no child misses out on the magic of Christmas.
What follows are three short stories about contributors to the success of the 51st annual Globe Santa campaign, which this year provided gifts for 57,079 children in 29,379 families in 171 Eastern Massachusetts cities and towns.
Peter Young knew he wanted to help Globe Santa deliver presents to the children in need this Christmas season. He had money to donate, like he did in past years, but he thought he could make a greater contribution to Globe Santa's mission.
Young, a resident of Manchester-by-the-Sea, manufactured a dozen photographic tiles emblazoned with reproductions of the Globe's front pages highlighting the 2007 Red Sox' World Series victories.
He donated the tiles, which were put on display during Globe Santa's sleigh events throughout the city this Christmas season. They helped raise interest among passersby, some of whom stopped to donate and received a raffle ticket for a chance to win a tile. The dozen tiles Young donated were presented to lucky winners just days before Christmas.
"I thought it was a really neat way to help out Globe Santa," said Young. "There's a lot of things going on with Globe Santa and a lot of interest in the Red Sox, especially this year. I thought if I combine them, that could raise more money. I was really happy that I was able to help out."
Young, the owner of Coastal View Photography, said he creates many of the marble, 4-inch-square tiles for people who submit personal pictures and then use them as keepsakes on their mantel or as coasters. The process is a hobby for Young, who first learned of the technique while on vacation in California.
Globe Santa's storied past stretches far back into an era well before the Internet. However, this modern technology has made Globe Santa's mission easier and enables him to provide gifts to a greater number of children who, without him, would wake up to a Christmas morning without presents.
Globe Santa has his own website, and even some videos on YouTube.com - endeavors in which he has received technological support from Ben Moreno, founder of a charitable site named Qambio.com.
Moreno, a resident of the North Shore, said he started his site about a year ago after he was inspired by a radio story about a worker who lost nearly everything during the
This season, Moreno teamed with Globe Santa and posted a list of cities and towns with the number of families Globe Santa helps in each of those locations and letters mailed to Globe Santa from members of that specific community.
"I really wanted to do something that was very personal and that brought donors right to the need of the individual," said Moreno. "We just want to try and provide as much support for Globe Santa as possible."
There are about 1,200 individual stories asking for help and about 100 active donors utilizing Qambio.com, Moreno said. Instead of money going directly to the individual person or family, the donations are given to a verified organization that can provide the specific needs of the person or family.
Through his efforts and site, Moreno said, people have contributed $238 this year to Globe Santa's fund.
When Globe Santa takes his sleigh out to various spots around the city as part of his fund-raising campaign, he receives greetings from old and new friends alike.
Some of his friends have donated to his cause for years; others stop and contribute for the first time. When George Bourque, a former state representative and former mayor of Fitchburg, visited Globe Santa a couple of weeks before Christmas, he had a special gift.
Bourque, a resident of The Highlands nursing home in Fitchburg, handed Globe Santa a $2,500 check, the first donation from the Life Care Centers of America.
Nearly 2,300 residents of the 17 facilities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island operated by the Life Care Centers, including the Highlands, raised the money.
Throughout the year, residents hold bake sales, craft fairs, and other fund-raising events to purchase items for the facility or donate to an organization. This year, the residents chose Globe Santa as one of those organizations.
"It maintains that our residents have the ability to advocate and choose charities they want to donate to," said Kevin Heaney, a spokesman for Life Care Centers. "Just because they reside here for a long period of time doesn't mean they are not still involved members of the communities where they live."
Globe Santa donations can be made anytime at globesanta.org.
