Letters to Santa – 10 Years of Christmas Cheer
Impact has been working with Pickard School for the past 10 years to provide over 3,000 hand-picked gifts to every Pickard student. This heartwarming video gives a behind-the-scenes look at what is involved in making the magic happen.
Video Transcript
We’re here today to talk about Letters to Santa.
My name is Heidi Cucco. My part in this event is the selecting, purchasing, and wrapping of the close to 300 gifts for the kids.
All around me here are the gifts that I have purchased from the money that Impact gathers from their employees to give a special gift to close to 300 children at Pickard Elementary School, pre-kindergarten through fourth grade.
My favorite thing about this program is seeing the tiny little kids trying to haul away their huge gifts, all wrapped with a beautiful bow, and carry their candy cane at the same time. So excited about their gifts that they’re speechless.
I’ve been involved with this program for going on over 10 years. Impact has been involved the whole time. The program has really grown, and as you know, Impact wants to do everything class A and we really feel a close connection to the school.
In seven years, I have never seen a disappointed child opening their Christmas gift. A soon as they get their gift and go back to the classroom, they’re ready to start writing back to Santa. You know, that’s really a great thing for so many reasons. They’re writing. They’re writing for a purpose.
Well, you really like to see the kids so happy and excited about a gift.
Every year’s the same thing that keeps you coming back. Kids are so excited. They’re always so grateful.
My sister, who’s in second grade, she was excited for today. She actually woke me up. It’s nice to see how happy she is with her gift.
I think that ever since Impact has become a part of our lives here at Pickard that our school has really grown in this area of giving back to the community.
People that we don’t know are giving us gifts, it shows that they really care for us. In my family, there’s not as many gifts as most people get, so it’s nice to get an extra gift every now and then.
What’s unique is seeing the kids grow up, and now they’re in eighth grade and ready to go on to high school and see how this program has affected them.