Deadline to sign up is Nov. 19
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Contributing Writer
Santa Claus is not a myth. Anyone who has given a gift anonymously knows this. The Santa Anonymous program in New Richland has been Santa Claus to local children whose parents could otherwise not afford the toys on their letters to Santa.
This program is receiving some updates this year. First, rather than being called “Santa Anonymous,” parents will now sign up for the “Wishing Tree” program at local businesses. Second, those who wish to donate gifts through Wishing Tree will have a much more hands-on opportunity, as they will personally purchase the gifts rather than merely donating money for gifts.
Once the program has enough qualifying applicants, Wishing trees will be displayed at local businesses, filled with tags, each of which will include a child’s name, age and an item on their wish list. Those who wish to purchase a gift for a child can take a tag, purchase the item on the tag and bring it to the New Richland Area Food Shelf, New Richland City Hall, Wagner Foods or New Richland State Bank.
Sign-up sheets for the New Richland Area Wishing Tree program can be found at the bank, city hall, Wagner’s, the post office, New Richland Drug and the Lady Bug. Sign-up sheets are also available online at www.facebook.com/NRwishingtree, and can be emailed to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Sign-up sheets must be completed and submitted to the Food Shelf or online by Monday, Nov. 19. Wishing Trees with tags will be located at the bank, city hall, Red Leaf Café, Nancy Jane’s Bakery, the post office, the drug store, First Impressions and area churches. The deadline for donating gifts is Dec. 3.
Parents of Wishing Tree recipients will pick up the gifts from the Food Shelf on Dec. 14. If a family has multiple recipients on the Wishing Tree program, their gifts will be bagged together. Included on the application for the program is the option to request one or two rolls of wrapping paper.
Plans are also underway to make the Wishing Tree program available this year in the communities of Hartland, Matawan, Otisco and Waldorf. Sign-up and Wishing Tree locations for these communities are yet to be determined.
Although the Wishing Tree program for this year has begun as a Christmas program, it is hoped that in the future, the program might become available for families in need throughout the year for holidays and birthdays.