Angels in Santa Hats

Single Mom’s Breakfast with Santa is one of the most heartwarming service projects I have ever had the opportunity to work on. The Salt Lake Soroptimist Club’s fifth annual Breakfast with Santa was held this morning.

Breakfast with Santa is not your usual sub-for-Santa program. The single moms must be invited to participate, and to be invited they must be doing something that will improve their lives and the lives of their children. Some of the women are finishing high school or attending college. Some have left abusive relationships – or are working to stop substance abuse. Some have obtained better jobs or better housing.

This morning, when the mothers arrived with their children, they were served a hot breakfast. Then the children visited with – and were photographed with Santa. After the photo, the children go with volunteers to select and wrap gifts for their mothers; while the mothers go to “Santa’s Secret Workshop.” When a single mom is accepted into the program, she provides a list of warm clothing that her children need. Volunteer shoppers then shop for the clothing and bring it to the event in a plain sack. In Santa’s Workshop, volunteers help the mother find her bag of clothing, help her select toys for her children, and help her take her packages out to her car. Then, she rejoins her children and picks up her photo.

Volunteer “angels” – both Soroptimist members and other community volunteers, spend hundreds of hours fundraising for this event, shopping for the mothers, securing toy donations, and working at the event. Smiles, laughter, and even tears of joy were everywhere as these mothers knew the relief of being able to provide a modest Christmas for their children.

Over 100 angels earned their wings today. The Christmas season has officially begun.