MatSu Special Santa Still Needs Volunteers, Donations to Make Holiday Wishes Come True

A program that provides holiday gifts for Valley families in need is still looking for gift donations and volunteers for the 2021 holiday season.

MatSu Special Santa, now in its 14th year, annually gives an array of gifts to thousands of children in the MatSu. Parents fill out and turn in wishlists with each child receiving two to three gifts, plus a book and other small items that can be used as stocking stuffers. In 2020 the program gave gifts to 3,604 children ages birth to 18 from 1,242 families, according to Debbie Miller, who took over administering the program this year. Since its founding in 1997 it has assisted over 57,000 kids.

Miller, Chief Elf Organizer or CEO, only learned about the program for the first time last year while working there as a volunteer. Recently retired after 25 years working with the Alaska State court system, Miller dove into volunteering with Alaska Family Services, which oversees Special Santa. When Special Santa needed a new CEO this fall, she stepped in.

Special Santa makes its holiday magic by collecting wish lists from families and then using volunteer “elves” to shop a warehouse of donated toys, as closely as possible matching gifts with the lists. The operating warehouse space, which is donated, migrates around the Valley, relocating annually based on space availability. Gifts are packaged in large, easy to transport trash bags for families to pick up when they are ready.

This year the warehouse is located at the Bogard Logistics Center at 4721 E Bogard Road in Wasilla. Needs lists are collected through December 17, with the last day for gift fulfillment and donations Dec. 22.

More than anything else, Miller said, the program needs donations. Through a partnership with Toys for Tots, volunteers collect new, unwrapped toys from cardboard bins placed around the Valley. People who want to donate money can visit the Special Santa website at SpecialSanta.net, and anyone can bring toys and other items to the warehouse on Bogard during business hours. The program will also hold a fundraiser through its annual Festival of Trees raffle at Colony Christmas Dec. 11.

Kids receiving gifts through the Special Santa program like the same hot items everyone else does, Miller said, but she often sees specific requests for sleds, Paw Patrol toys, RC cards and sports balls. Teens are particularly difficult to fulfill wish lists for, she said, and the program can always use more soap or hygiene sets, artist or drawing kits and journals. Gifts cards donated from local businesses are also very helpful.

Volunteers are also needed, she said. While they need large groups to register ahead of time on the website, individuals who want to donate their time distributing toys throughout the warehouse or packaging gifts for wishlists can simply drop in Monday through Saturday.

“It really is a special thing in there,” she said of the warehouse floor. “It’s the giving of your time that will affect so many kids.”