The schoolchildren step up; many pennies put in the hat
As Boston public school classrooms buzz this week with anxious children awaiting their Christmas vacations, students, teachers, and staff have not been distracted from their traditional commitment to help children in need.
That became obvious at noontime yesterday, when the Boston public schools continued their generous tradition of giving to Globe Santa, donating $17,357.58 to the 2005 Globe Santa Fund campaign.
Stopping by Globe Santa's sleigh to make the contribution, School Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant presented the check to Globe Santa and Richard H. Gilman, The Boston Globe's publisher, outside Border's bookstore in Downtown Boston.
Boston public schools have been annual contributors to Globe Santa for more than 20 years, and though the school system receives overtures from other charitable organizations, Globe Santa remains its sole beneficiary.
''Globe Santa is our anchor," Payzant said. ''We are extremely sensitive to the needs of kids, and Globe Santa gives directly to the city and the communities that our children live in."
Payzant echoed Governor Mitt Romney's sentiment this week, commending the Globe Foundation and the Globe for covering all of the expenses associated with the campaign.
The public schools are still tallying the total amount collected at the 145 schools that make up the Boston system; donations will be accepted into January, said Maureen Lumley, a top assistant to the superintendent.
There is already at least $2,000 in additional money slated for Globe Santa that has been counted, Lumley said, bringing the total to date to more than $19,000.
Lumley, a 19-year Boston public school employee, is credited with making the fund-raising effort run efficiently. And she has a knack for instilling enthusiasm when necessary.
''She's the person that makes it all work," Payzant said. ''She nudges people when they need a little nudge, and really organizes everything."
Lumley said there is little prodding involved with the campaign, as many of the Boston public school system's teachers, administrators, and central staff members remember receiving Globe Santa generosity as children, and jump at the chance to give back.
''We have faculty who were Globe Santa recipients some 40 years ago," Lumley said. ''So they are very involved. There's one principal who received Globe Santa as a child that calls early every year wondering when the envelopes for the school's collections are coming."
There are always a few notable donors. This year, the McKay School in East Boston raised $600.
The McKinley School in the Fenway, a multilevel school for special-needs students, donated $400, and Boston Latin Academy, the system's largest school with almost 2,000 students, delivered $1,600, Lumley said.
There is time to join the Boston public schools and give to Globe Santa. Contributors can drop by Santa's sleigh, mail a donation, or make a contribution online this week. You can be a part of making tens of thousands of children's dreams come true. 