Convoy of Santas brings Christmas to 100s of children

Written by Cody Blowers
December 19, 2015

ST. GEORGE — Activity was high at the Dixie Center St. George Friday afternoon in preparation for the grand Santa run – actually 100 runs – that brought Christmas to children from one end of Washington County to the other.

At 4 p.m. cars, trucks and motorcycles began pulling into the Dixie Center St. George. It was the great Kony Coins for Kids gift delivery, the last phase of this year’s installment of a 26-year program aimed at bringing joy to thousands of children who may have otherwise gone without this Christmas.

After months of fundraising, weeks of organizing and days of frenzied activity, a convoy of cars, trucks and motorcycles loaded with gifts left the Dixie Center in red and white – Santa style.

Vehicles of all types were loaded with bags of gifts, each bag containing the number assigned to a particular family. The drivers were provided with a route taking them to the homes of four or five families.

Many volunteers participating in the deliveries have been involved for years. Lynn Spafford, owner of Malibu Cleaners St. George, started volunteering for Coins for Kids with Carl Lamar back in 1990 when Lamar asked him if he could help out with cleaning the Santa suits. Today, Spafford is is an assistant coordinator of wardrobe, Lamar said.

The experience of going to a home and delivering presents to kids for Christmas is what this is really about. Second-year volunteer Santa, Ramon Rivera, said it serves two purposes.

“It feels great,” Rivera said, “to help all of these kids that need help.”

Rivera’s wife, Crisann, said she believes this experience is teaching their two children to give back to the community and to help children in need.

“We are a firm believer, my husband and I, on teaching our kids the true meaning of Christmas,” she said. “Not just about what we get, but what we give.”

For some volunteer Santas one route wasn’t enough, and several returned to the Dixie Center to have their vehicles loaded up again.

At the end of the day the Santas returned to the Dixie Center – for another wardrobe change … until next year.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cody Blowers was raised in South San Francisco, California. A 2013 graduate of Colorado Technical University, Cody earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in paralegal studies. Through the course of her academic studies she discovered that writing is her true passion, and she is committed to providing credible, integrated news coverage. Cody joined St. George News in 2015, and when she’s not busy chasing the news, she can generally be found chasing her young granddaughter, Kali.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

3 Comments

  • ladybugavenger December 19, 2015 at 1:43 pm

    I saw a Santa on a Harley yesterday wearing his biker patch.

  • .... December 19, 2015 at 2:43 pm

    Another kool aid drinking idiot. drink that Kool Aid. go out there and celebrate a lie !

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.