‘I believe’ in miracles

It’s a struggle to put into words what it’s like sitting in the Palmer workshop for Mat-Su Special Santa. In all directions, tables are neatly covered with gifts that will be given to thousands of Valley children. This is love shared neighbor to neighbor with no strings attached. Last year, the nonprofit passed along gifts to 3,710 Mat-Su Borough children from 1,331 families.

Mari Jo Parks began Mat-Su Special Santa in 1997. The idea grew from the Palmer woman’s own treasured memories of Christmas and her wish to share that same magic with other children. Since then, thousands of children have been blessed by her willingness to organize her friends and neighbors and turn her dream into a beautiful, annual reality for Valley kids.

Perhaps what’s most remarkable about this huge annual effort is that it is all local, has no paid staff and no permanent location. Yet somehow, every year for the past 16, the many Valley Special Santas among us pull together and we do as a community what none of us could do individually.

During its existence, Mat-Su Special Santa has made a name for itself, but not as a charity. It’s a blessing for those who give and those who receive.

It’s a pretty wonderful feeling to have your neighbors send Santa to your house with no agenda other than love. And what could feel better than knowing you were even the smallest part of something as richly wonderful as fulfilling kids’ Christmas wishes?

We are proud to say we’ve shared this story with Frontiersman readers since that first year when Parks struggled to give lift to her dream. Writing this story over so many years, we’ve been blessed to meet families who were on the receiving end one year and thrilled to be on the giving end the next year. This year we learned the story of middle school kids on the giving and the receiving end who were equally proud to be part of the program.

We love that Mat-Su Special Santa has grown to be so much a part of the tapestry of life here that to be part of the effort in any way is counted as a blessing.

If you have plans to volunteer this time of year, consider stopping by the Special Santa workshop in the old Carrs mall in Palmer and chipping in. You’ll be amazed at what your neighbors are doing. Take your children and your grandchildren, too. That’s another of the joys of this effort — it’s all of us working together from ages 3 to 93. Community efforts such as Special Santa, Christmas Friendship Dinner and Santa Cop and Heroes make us proud to serve and support the Mat-Su Valley.

We have every confidence Parks will gently take us to task for making any mention of her role in this years long act of extraordinary kindness. She’ll say that lots of volunteers work alongside her to bring Christmas to Valley kids, but Parks is the chief elf organizer and thus must also stand to accept the accolades earned.

So how does she perform this Christmas miracle year after year?

“I believe,” Parks said.