An all volunteer team made up of foster parents, volunteers from the community and local Court Appointed Special Advocates employees in Cherokee County run the Secret Santa program for the Department of Children and Family Services in Cherokee.
By working with community partners, churches and organizations, the volunteers work hard to meet one goal: fulfill the wish lists of children who are in foster care in the county.
“The program started 15 years ago and came out of a desire to make sure that children living in foster care or group homes for Christmas were provided with as many of the items they needed and wanted as possible,” said Lisa Wheeler, coordinator of the Cherokee County Secret Santa program.
To make the holidays truly special, volunteers get the community involved to “adopt” children for Christmas. Sponsors receive the kids’ wish lists as early as October and are given several weeks to shop for the children they have been matched with. Items are then delivered to the drop off location the first week in December.
Foster parents, CASA volunteers and DFCS caseworkers then pick-up the bags of wish list items and get them ready for Christmas morning. The toys, clothes and other items go directly to the children who are living in foster care and currently in the custody of DFCS in Cherokee County.
“It’s important to the community because these are its children. They attend the schools, play sports for the local teams and attend the churches and synagogues in the area. Despite the challenges that the families may be facing, the children are still part of this community,” added Wheeler.
Adding more fun to the holiday spirit, the North Georgia Toy Run connected with the Secret Santa program in order to help fill the wish lists of the kids as well as to provide for children who may come into care after the people have already sponsored all of the current children with wish lists.
Every year on the first Sunday in December, bikers from all over Cherokee and Pickens County meet and ride together to bring awareness to the needs of children in the local community.
On Sunday, Dec. 3, approximately 1,500 local bikers dropped off toys at the Moose Lodge in Canton as part of the North Georgia Toy Run, a longstanding tradition of motorcyclists collecting and donating toys to less fortunate children in North Georgia.
The toy run has benefitted children in Cherokee and Pickens County for 35 years, and the Secret Santa program has been recipients for the last 15 years.
“We hope our sponsors and volunteers will be touched by the opportunity to serve children who will be separated from their families of origin this Christmas, and that helping us get these children what they want for Christmas will extend the spirit of the season for them,” added Wheeler. “For the children in foster care who will receive those presents, we hope it will help them to feel loved, but most of all, we hope they will know they are remembered.”
The Secret Santa program always seeks help from the community all year long for various needs that the children have throughout the year, including birthdays, school events, and therapeutic needs.
In other news
All 98 Mattress Firm stores in Atlanta are hosting a toy drive for Mattress Firm’s Foster Kids initiative benefiting local foster youth and families. Through Sunday, Dec. 17 during normal store hours, Mattress Firm will accept new and unwrapped toys and monetary contributions to spread holiday cheer for foster children and families in need. All proceeds will be donated to Bloom Our Youth and Foster Care Support Foundation Inc. at the end of the drive.
Information: Email Lisa Wheeler at luisa482@gmail.com
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