Santa Fund now serves community with emergency assistance, scholarships

LACONIA — The Lakes Region Santa Fund is gearing up for outerwear distribution, sending applications to nurses and social workers across 19 local schools, as well as community partners including Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Belknap House, and Lakes Region Community Services.

The organization has been helping underserved children in the Lakes Region during the holiday season, as well as throughout the rest of the year, since 1973.

Distribution for requests for bulk outerwear orders starts Tuesday, Oct. 20, and will run through Wednesday, Nov. 18. Once applications are completed, they are emailed to Santa Fund volunteers. Orders are filled on Tuesdays, and volunteers deliver outerwear to schools on Wednesdays.

Katie Pierson, board member, said if the bulk distribution deadline has passed, they still take orders as needed.

Shopping for this year started in February, so volunteers have plenty of time to find sales, mostly at Walmart or online. All winter boots distributed by the Santa Fund come through a partnership with BootLegger's.

“We've been getting our boots all organized, our hats, our mittens,” said Kim Lacasse, chair of the Santa Fund board. “We have yarn, people who sew and knit and crochet for us, for hats and mittens, and we're getting all that organized. Because just in a week or two, we start up. So, we're just excited to get it going again.”

The group's efforts are all done by a 12-person board. They emphasized they are not part of the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Fund, but rather an independent organization who receives grants from the Children's Fund.

The Santa Fund partners directly with community partners to make applications and outerwear available. After the holiday season, the group will continue with student scholarships and emergency support.

“We take care of 19 schools now. So, we are out there for sure. But our camps, we do sports camps, we do allergy-friendly camps, autism-friendly camps, as well, visually impaired. So, the schools are pretty good about reaching out to us, and we do what we can for sure,” Lacasse said.

Emergency funding is the newest addition for the Santa Fund, made possible by community grants.

“We are able to have some monies that go directly to families with a direct need,” Lacasse said. “If there's a fire in their house, if the child just lost a parent, and there's a need there, we can financially help them, as far as gas cards if they have to go to Hanover, or Boston, with a sick child. We have food gift certificates, and we have Walmart gift certificates, so we can help them right away.”

Lacasse said many times, families have to wait for insurance review before they can get funds, and the Santa Fund assists and acts as emergency help for those with immediate need.

“Prior to COVID, families used to come to us, and it was lines and lines of people just waiting to get into the Santa Fund to get their outerwear,” Lacasse said. “Once COVID hit, we could not do that anymore. We had to actually supply the jackets to the schools. And boy, that helped us so much get our name out there to these schools.”

Lacasse said now, they work hand-in-hand with school counselors, and can get a real handle on the need for kids, both for emergencies and scholarships.

For more information about the Lakes Region Santa Fund, visit santafund.weebly.com, or find them on Facebook.

Pierson said in the last few years, the Santa Fund has helped about 750 kids.

“It's maybe gone down a little bit, but we're hoping that they're recycling some of these, because we do buy good stuff. And it's good boots, and it's good to hand them down,” Pierson said. “And I think most of the community knows who we are, we’re getting out there, and so the police and fire, they know they can find one of our board members, and get in touch.”

“We all volunteer our time, so it’s a good feel for sure that you’re making a difference, because I think we are.”