The public relations firm Augustine & Associates usually gives and gets plenty of corporate gifts during the holidays. Candles, wine bottles, fruit baskets and the usual frivolous stuff, says company founder Debbie Augustine.
But this year, "especially with so many people struggling, we wanted to make a difference," she says.
So instead of sending gifts, staffers opted to join the U.S. Postal Service's annual "Letters to Santa" program, which grants written requests from needy kids and their parents.
Employees picked up more than 500 letters from a nearby post office branch and pored over them.
Many staffers, Augustine included, were in tears, reading letters from kids whose families were torn apart by illness, incarceration and poverty. Instead of asking for iPods or other pricey toys, most writers simply requested the basics.
"One asked for a shawl and gloves for her mother so she wouldn't be cold," Augustine says.
Another told Santa he must be busy because there had been no response to her letters the past three years.
"Oh my gosh, that one just broke my heart," Augustine says.
Company staffers ended up buying gifts for 85 families.
As for Augustine's clients?
They'll get a box, she says, bearing a message: "This year we gave your gift to someone else." Inside: one of the "Dear Santa" letters.
Here's to holiday spirit.
Reach Bob Shallit at bshallit(at)sacbee.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com
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