CONCORD, NH — And they are off — thousands of gifts for children, some of the neediest in New Hampshire, will receive gifts this Christmas and holiday season due to Operation Santa Claus.
Now in its 64th year, Operation Santa Claus is one of the charitable initiatives of SEA/SEUI 1984, the union representing state employees and retirees. While the regular elves and program helpers were on hand, including dozens of members of the New Hampshire National Guard, some special guest elves were also there to help out, including governor-elect Kelly Ayotte, and Lori Weaver, the commissioner for the Department of Health and Human Services.
It was the first time in many years a governor or governor-elect attended the distribution event.
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Bagged gifts, filling up an entire hangar, were placed in trucks to be driven around the state early Monday morning. Dozens of guard members, Ayotte, Weaver, volunteers, and others filled up the trucks, which were driven to several areas of the state. From there, DHHS employees will distribute the gifts to the children.
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“It’s an amazing program,” Ayotte said, “to give families a nice holiday … to really make sure they understand we care about them.”
Ayotte also praised Heather Wood, a DHHS employee who spearheaded this year’s effort.
Ayotte, who easily won the corner officer in November, said she was excited to become New Hampshire’s next governor and called it a “privilege to serve the people of the state.”
In past years, a National Guard helicopter has been used to ship presents — giving the entire Operation Santa Claus effort an air of flight with Santa and his sleigh while offering the opportunity for training. However, snow flurries prevented the copter from being used this year.
Maj. Gen. David Mikolaities, the adjutant general of the New Hampshire National Guard, said the effort to deliver the gifts to children and allow the base in Concord to be used as a collection space for Operation Santa Claus was all about being a good member of the community.
“This is just a great example of partnering with another state compartment, the State Employee’s Association, to benefit the citizens of the state and underprivileged children,” he said.
Mikolaities said morale in the guard was high, and recruitment was up, too.
Weaver said it was “amazing” the program had been delivering gifts to children for 64 years. At the same time, she added, the effort would not have been as successful without the union, retirees, and the public. Weaver said it was heartwarming to see members of the public delivering gifts at a district office about a month ago when she was in the field.
Weaver said getting the gifts to kids was more than just providing what they needed. It was about making sure they had special gifts for the holidays.
“It’s a very valuable tradition that we are very grateful for,” she said.
To help out, visit the NH SEA Operation Santa Claus website, linked here.
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