We have so far received 19 letters to put smiles on the faces of 47 children. As always, we can only continue our mission of providing gifts to children whose parents need assistance with the generosity of our readers and donors. Monetary donations may be sent to:
The Santa Claus Fund
P.O. Box 278
Brunswick, ME 04011
Donations of new toys, games, hats, mittens, gift cards or cash may be brought to the Brunswick Elks Lodge at 179 Park Row in Brunswick or the Bath Elks Lodge at 9 Lambard St. in Bath. Just ring the doorbell and someone will assist you. All donations will be published in The Times Record in the manner you wish: by name, in memory of a loved one or anonymously. The Santa Claus Fund is a 501(c)3 organization so your donations may be tax deductible as applicable by law.
The Santa Claus Fund provides gifts to Children ages 6 months to 13 years as of Dec. 25, 2018. The children must physically reside in the towns of Brunswick, Harpswell, Orrs and Bailey Islands, Litchfield, Topsham, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Richmond, Woolwich, Arrowsic, Georgetown, Bath, West Bath, Phippsburg, Sebasco and Popham.
The custodial parent or legal guardian is the only person who may apply. The address for applying is the P.O. Box listed above. If you know someone who could use some help, please share this information. To receive assistance, both the children and the adult must be legal residents of a town in our distribution area. Only one letter will be accepted, so in the instance of split custody where parents live in different towns, the town where the child attends school will be used to determine which parent may apply. If you have a question regarding this policy, you may call for clarification. The telephone number to the Santa Claus Fund is (207) 751-6385.
We are now accepting applications and all applications must be postmarked by December 10th. Our Elves will begin packing on Monday, Dec. 3, so box numbers will be available shortly after that date. We try to fill the applications the day after receipt, so after Dec. 3, please call a few days after mailing your letter for your gift box number and pickup location. We will also attempt to reach you, but will not leave a message with a child.
Each letter must include:
- The name and physical address, as well as a daytime telephone number of the adult applying. If we have any questions, we will call for clarification. A Post Office Box address will be rejected.
- The first and last name of each child, gender, age and date of birth must be included. No exceptions! We ask for gender as not every name is exclusively a boys or girls name. Elves do not want to be embarrassed for their gift selections and make every effort to make every child happy.
Since the last publication The Santa Claus Fund has received the following donations: First Federal Savings of Bath, Bath Branch $100, Diane Moody donated 150 sets of hats and mittens…fantastic work Diane! Mid-Coast Retired Educators donated books, stuffed toys and educational toys.
There are some cool fundraising events that you don’t want to miss:
Joshua’s Restaurant and Tavern silent auction running from Sunday, Dec. 2 through Thursday, Dec. 6. If you would like to donate an item for the auction please contact Joshua’s Restaurant and Tavern at (207) 725-7981. Thursday Dec. 6 starting at 4 p.m. $1 of all draft beer sales will be donated to the Santa Claus Fund. There will also be raffles and fun events that night as well announcing the winners of the silent auction. Be sure to go in and grab a bite to eat as a portion of their lunch and dinner sales from Dec. 2-6 will be donated to the Santa Claus Fund.
The Bath Elks Lodge Jingle Jam is on Saturday Dec. 8 starting at 6 p.m. Admission price is $5 featuring the Marshall Nelson Trio. There will also be a silent auction, cash bar and concessions. Participants must be 21 or older to attend.
Sunday Dec. 16 is the annual toy drive at the Taste of Maine. This is the Taste of Maines last Sunday Buffet of the season. Admission to the Sunday Buffet is 99 cents per person plus a new unwrapped toy.
Thank you for your generosity, support and participation.