Santa Fund plans another season of giving

KENT — Every holiday season, the Santa Fund helps Kent families provide Christmas presents for their children. Families that need help can get on the list by contacting the town’s social services director, Jerrilynn Tiso, or by asking at Kent Center School or a local church.

Families on the list receive a packet of information about the program, and a “wish list� form for the ages, genders and interests of the children in the family.

The Santa Fund then matches those children with an “elf� in the community. The elves receive a copy of the child’s wish list, and then shop for presents for the child. They generally buy one article of clothing and one toy.

“The Santa Fund is totally confidential,� said Lesly Ferris, who has been volunteering with the Santa Fund for 13 years. “No one knows who their elf is, and the elves don’t know who they’re shopping for.�

First Selectman Bruce Adams generally sends out an online newsletter which includes information about volunteering to be a Santa Fund elf.

“We’ve had people just walk into the [selectmen’s] office and ask, ‘Is there any need in town?’â€� added Joyce Kearns,  administrative assistant at the office.

The House of Books on North Main Street runs a similar program, an “angel tree,� with ornaments that list children’s ages and genders. Community members can then buy gifts for one of these children.

Ferris also described the success of last year’s Kent Fire Department Stuff-a-Truck. “It took three of us three hours to wrap all of the gift donations that came from the Stuff-a-Truck event,� she said.

This year’s Stuff-a-Truck will be Sunday, Dec. 12, at the firehouse  from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donations of unwrapped toys and nonperishable food items will be collected.