Hughes' “Senator Santa” Holiday Program Helps
Hundreds of Families in Need

The holiday season is about being with the ones you love, your friends and family and sharing in the true meaning of Christmas.  The holidays are a special time for us here in Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania. It’s a time when we give an extra special effort to respond to the needs of families in our community.

During the 2008 holiday season, beginning at Thanksgiving and continuing at Christmas, my district office assisted hundreds of families in need. At Thanksgiving, we distributed ShopRite Super Market gift cards through our “Hughes' Hearts of Harvest" program. And at Christmas, through my “Senator Santa” program, we provided clothes, gifts and toys to children and holiday meals for local families.
 

The “Senator Santa” program is a partnership with “Operation Santa”, a U.S. Postal Service program that has been around for 100 years and has become an important part of the agency's Christmas tradition.  It allows ordinary people to grant the wishes of children and families in need simply by going to their local post office and requesting a letter to Santa Claus.

Because these programs enable us to directly touch and positively impact the lives of hundreds of families each year, it’s important to identify the neediest families in the community who would benefit most.  We reach out to institutions as well as community or faith based organizations that work directly with diverse populations asking each to submit the names of two families for inclusion in our Holiday Basket Pool.  During the holidays, we use this pool to select families whose lives we can help to brighten.  Our program typically reaches approximately 200 families annually.

We also receive assistance from corporations like the Brown Family ShopRite Super Market, Target and Forman Mills.  Hundreds of individual donors also support our program with gift cards to Toys R Us and Forman Mills.

In early December, my wife Sheryl and I hosted "Holiday Affair with a Flair", a holiday fundraiser at the Bala Country Club.  It was truly a "party with a purpose," as we raised much needed funds to support the Senator Santa program.  The crowd that filled several rooms of the country club all contributed to this initiative. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring everyone together for a common cause.

This year we made the holiday wishes of nearly 200 children come true. Their families appreciated the donations during this time of year. It was also good to bring together those who want to support this initiative.  It's my hope that through the generosity of this wonderful and giving community that we can continue to provide children and families in need with a holiday to remember.