Girl offers Santa a sweet deal: cookies for gifts

For nearly a half-century, Item Santa has marked Christmas as a time for giving. The popular image of the holidays is a time of frantic excess, running to malls and struggling to the car with arms of packages, but Christmas is also a time to set aside a little for Item Santa to help those who view even a little as a lot.People helped by Item Santa include a 12-year-old girl who wants to make Christmas brighter for her 8-year-old brother – who was born deaf – and two sisters. The girl loves playing the flute but her mother needs help as a single parent to support four children.In her letter, the girl asked for Item Santa’s assistance in providing toys for Christmas for her brother and sisters and promised to leave cookies for Santa and a “nice warm glass of milk next to the Christmas tree.”Hundreds of children and parents are reaching out to Item Santa for help this Christmas season. Parents, grandparents and guardians are doing their best to work and provide the basic necessities for children and they just need a little help from Item Santa’s supporters in order to make Christmas the holiday it should be for children.Donations made to Item Santa show those in need that there are resources to help them year-round. Item Santa shares the same spirit as the local organizations that provide fuel assistance, offer shelter to domestic violence victims and job opportunities to those who have been laid off.The hope offered by an unexpected gift and a helping hand outshines Christmas lights and holiday glow. It provides a sense of renewal for the New Year and the strength to make a new start at righting tough circumstances.Item Santa provides a chance not only to share the elemental joy of Christmas with another person, it also lets people look for hope within themselves by feeling heartfelt charity exhibited by others. The philosophy of Item Santa is simple: If people in need can be shown the kindness of others then they can gain the hope they need to help themselves and, in time, help others.The heart of Item Santa is selfless giving to others by individuals who may never meet the children they are helping. The heart of Item Santa is the heart of Christmas, of all holidays that celebrate the ability of individuals to work together to make the lives of other better.Item Santa’s work is confined to the holidays but its message resonates year round by reminding us all about how charity gladdens all of our hearts.Anyone interested in signing up to collect at Santa Island on Broadway or any business willing to sell stockings should contact David Solimine Sr. or Joel Solimine at 781-595-1492. To make a direct donation to Item Santa, clip the coupon on page A3 in The Item and mail it, along with your check, to: Item Salvation Army Santa, P.O. Box 5, Lynn, MA 01903.All donations will be listed in Item print editions through the month of December and into 2015, along with a brief message from each donor, if they desire.NOTE: The application period to receive help from Item Santa has closed and the Item does not process applications. All questions about Item Santa should be directed to the Salvation Army at 781-598-0673.