Novartis annual gift up by $1,000
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A dark and wet morning late last week couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of a handful of
Among the gifts were a skateboard, a toy workbench, a radio-controlled train set, a pink toddler riding toy with purple handle bars, and a shiny, retro-styled red bicycle.
Jeff Lockwood, a company spokesman, said that delivering the gifts to three Cambridge-based social services agencies with which many employees have developed close ties through both fund-raising and volunteering is "the best thing we do all year."
But that was not all the people at Novaritis, a worldwide company involved in the research and development of products that protect and improve health and well-being, were doing to bring joy to needy children this Christmas.
The company this year also increased its annual gift to Globe Santa from $2,500 to $3,500.
Around Thanksgiving, Novartis displays paper mittens in the lobby of their building with specific gift requests from children at East End House, Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center, and Cambridge Family and Children's Service. According to Lockwood, despite the effects of the current economic crisis, a record number of employees snapped up this year's requests and donated nearly double the 250 toys that were asked for.
"We have a very enthusiastic workforce," said Jeff Lockwood, of the global firm which employs more than 1,600 workers in Cambridge.
On this morning, the "sleigh's" first stop was Cambridge Family & Children's Service, where a flock of wide-eyed children, dressed in colorful Christmas sweaters, gathered in a conference room with Santa and his elves, enjoy some candy canes, and let the big guy know about their Christmas wishes.
Outside, behind drawn blinds and without the children knowing, Novartis staffers hauled several large boxes stuffed with toys for the children and stowed them in an out-of-the-way place inside the building for distribution another day. Similar scenes played out at East End House and Hildebrand later that day.
In many ways, the Novartis toy drive reflects Globe Santa's mission. For more than 50 years, Globe Santa has brightened the Christmas mornings of thousands of Boston-area children who otherwise wouldn't receive them. Novartis's generous donation will help Globe Santa reach its fund-raising goals in a year when a weak economy and record unemployment has pushed requests for help to a record level.
"Giving back is a part of our company's culture," Lockwood said. "We believe very strongly in our associates playing an active role in our community."
Globe Santa is thankful to friends like the employees at Novartis to help fulfill the wishes of so many in the Commonwealth this year.
