Blue Santa and Brown Santa

Blue Santa and Brown Santa

Written by Rob Heidrick Friday, 21 November 2008

This holiday season, blue and brown are the new red and green.

Every winter for more than a decade, Leander, Cedar Park and Williamson County law enforcement agencies have worked with the communities to make Christmas merrier for families in need. The Blue Santa and Brown Santa initiatives bring toys, books and financial assistance to thousands of eager children and their parents.

Local police departments work with the Hill Country Christmas Bureau to run Blue Santa, which serves families living within the bounds of each city. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office organizes Brown Santa, a parallel program assisting county residents who live outside incorporated cities.

Last year’s Brown and Blue Santa initiatives combined to serve more than 1,000 families. More than 3,000 children received an average of three gifts each, and monetary donations helped parents pay bills and purchase groceries.

“Our community 30 years ago was a small community, and as it grows, we grow,” said Dianne Gattuso, director of the Hill Country Christmas Bureau. “Along with astronomical growth, the need is also astronomical.”

Collection barrels start to appear in community centers and county and city buildings in mid-November. While Brown Santa and Blue Santa have come to be associated with the assortment of toys they distribute each year, organizers said local families have an increasing need for help with more urgent expenses.

“For a lot of families, it wasn’t about that new toy; it was about, ‘Can we pay our electric bill, can we have heat, can we get some food?’” said Helen Garrett, president of the Leander Law Enforcement Association. “Both the need and the response have grown as people become more aware [of the programs.]”

Those with extensive medical bills or relatives in the military face even more extreme financial hardship, Gattuso said. The national economic decline has made matters worse for many families.

“Whenever it’s a down year for the economy, it’s an up year for us because people are struggling a little bit more,” said Capt. Richard Blake of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office. “Whenever the price of gas goes up, it affects everything.”

Community support has largely managed to keep pace with the growing levels of need in Williamson County, but monetary contributions have become increasingly important, Blake said. “You wouldn’t believe the outpouring of support from people who want to come and help in one way or another.”

The giving spirit has had a profound affect on the programs’ beneficiaries. Blake recalls a recent fund-raiser at which he encountered a woman whose family had received donations the previous year. She arrived at the event with a car full of gifts to donate.

“She had needed help, and we had helped her,” Blake said. “She appreciated it, and that was her way of paying back.”

Blue Santa and Brown Santa — how you can get involved

• Sponsor a fund raising activity or donation collection with a group or neighborhood
• Adopt a family for Christmas
• Put up a giving tree in your lobby and help collect toys, food, heaters, blankets, flashlights, toiletries
• Monetary donations for Blue Santa can be made at www.hillcountrychristmas.org or mailed to Hill Country Christmas Bureau, 1624 Shenandoah Drive, Cedar Park, TX 78613. For Brown Santa, mail donations to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, 508 Rock St., Georgetown, TX 78626
• Call 773-5878 to arrange a donation drop-off for Blue Santa
• Blue Santa donations for this year accepted through Dec. 19; online donations accepted through Dec. 24
• Brown Santa donations for this year accepted through Dec. 13; monetary donations accepted through Dec. 22

Suggested donations

• Baby oil
• Baby shampoo
• Body powder
• Brush, comb
• Bubble bath, bar soap
• Deodorant
• Diapers
• Disposable razor blades
• Hair spray
• Hand mirror
• Lotion
• Shampoo, conditioner
• Shaving cream
• Toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash
• Vaseline

Brown Santa donation barrel location: Williamson County Cedar Park Annex, 350 Discovery Blvd., Cedar Park

Williamson County Brown Santa kickoff

Brown Santa will kick off this season’s donation drive with a parade and holiday celebration at Wolf Ranch Town Center Nov. 22. Saint Nick will ride in with the Blue Knight International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club and stay to pose for photos. Donations gathered at the event will benefit the Brown Santa program and the Simon Youth Foundation, which provides scholarships to youth. Call 773-5380 or visit http://wilco.sharepointsite.com/pio/santa/default.aspx.

Nov. 22: Williamson County Brown Santa kickoff

• Wolf Ranch Town Center
• 2-5:30 p.m., 7-8 p.m. photos with Santa
• 6 p.m. Blue Knights motorcycle parade

For more Brown Santa information, call the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, 943-1400. For more Blue Santa information, call the Hill Country Christmas Bureau, 773-5878 or visit www.hillcountrychristmas.org.

Sources: Hill Country Christmas Bureau and Williamson County Sheriff’s Office

Blue Santa and Brown Santa, 943-1400 • 773-5878, www.hillcountrychristmas.org

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