Pictured clockwise from the middle, Operation: Secret Santa board membersJenny Coakley, Ramona Fry, Katie Keys, Saralyn Kingsolver and Beth Carey Amos. The organziation relies on 100% volunteer effort. Photo by Mick Jeffries
Santa’s elves are gearing up for a busy month ahead in a certain Lexington workshop, and they are seeking the community’s help to bring some extra Christmas cheer to an estimated more than 2,000 local families this year.
Operation: Secret Santa is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to helping local families during the holiday season, by delivering Christmas gifts and holiday meal kits to local families who have either self-nominated or been nominated by someone else to receive some extra cheer.
As organization founder Katie Keys points out, there are plenty of other local organizations that operate wonderful toy drives and free holiday meals. But due to a variety of circumstances, a lot of local families are often still left needing assistance this time of year.
“We exist to fill in the gaps,” Keys explained.
Photo by Mick Jeffries
These are some of the facets that make Operation: Secret Santa stand out:
• The organization (literally) meets people where they are. Operation: Secret Santa volunteers deliver toys and meal kits directly to the doorsteps of the nominated families in the days leading up to Christmas each year, eliminating the need for families to take time off work or arrange childcare or transportation to access the benefits.
• There are no early calendar cut-offs. While application deadlines for many local toy drives are as early as August or September, Operation Secret Santa’s nomination window is in early December. This year’s window for nominations is Dec. 1-4.
“Especially right now, people’s financial situation can change rapidly,” Keys said. “Maybe you didn’t know you needed help 4 or 5 months ago. Or maybe you were in survival mode and weren’t thinking about the holidays and now it’s upon you. We go right up to December with the cut-offs.”
• It serves children of all ages, including teenagers. Due to limited resources or other reasons, many organizations have an age cutoff for their toy drives. O:SS seeks to serve children of all ages, including teenagers. In fact, there are other local organizations that send their teenage applicants to O:SS.
“Teens are hyper aware of what their peers have, and they need to be loved on as much as anybody,” Keys said.
• Gifts AND meals are part of the package. Though the organization initially began as a toy drive, upon realizing the number of families that it was serving who were also experiencing food insecurity, the organization started including a shelf-stable pantry box in 2020. This year’s pantry box includes ingredients for a Christmas casserole and holiday breakfast, with a recipe card to help guide families through the steps of assembling. As for toys and other gifts, the organization collects them year-round and activates hundreds of volunteers to hand-select items for each family based on their application. Volunteers hand-deliver the meal kits and gift items to the families’ doorsteps in the days leading up to Christmas.
• It’s a 100% volunteer-based organization. The Operation: Secret Santa team has no paid employees, and to keep the overhead costs at an absolute minimum, its all-volunteer board works hard year-round to secure in-kind donations — everything from workshop space and internet service to paper towels, toilet paper, snacks, beverages and other items that keep the workshop running. As a result, nearly 100% of all monetary donations go directly toward the families served.
The final weeks leading up to Christmas will be especially busy, and the organization is seeking help to ensure that as many families as possible can be served.
Photo by Mick Jeffries
Ways that you can help:
Donate money. “Funding is our first and foremost need,” Keys said. “We’re really good at stretching our dollars.” At the time of publication, Operation: Secret Santa was working to raise funds to purchase a collection of pallets of high-quality toys that had been offered to the organization at wholesale cost; financial needs will continue to be higher than ever throughout the rest of this holiday season.
Donating via ZEFFY is the best way to ensure the organization gets 100% of your donation and that the funds are available to them immediately; Venmo donations are also an option. A link to donate can be found at the organization’s website, www.operationsecretsanta.org (note: the listed nonprofit name is Lift Up Lexington).
Donate toy/gift items. Donations of toys, clothing and other gift items — new and in original packaging — will be accepted at the workshop (350 Elaine Dr.) on Dec. 3 (9 a.m.- 6 p.m.) or between Dec. 8-21 (hours vary; check website or social media for updates). Gifts for children of all ages are accepted, with gifts for teenagers generally the greatest need. Amazon and Wal-mart wishlists are posted at linktr.ee/operationsecretsantalex.
Donate food items. In addition to accepting donations of specific food items for the pantry boxes, the organization is opening up an option this year for businesses or other groups to put together food boxes themselves. Donations can be dropped off at the warehouse on Dec. 3 between 9 a.m.-6 p.m. or a drop-off can be scheduled with coordinators. Email opsecretsantafooddrive@gmail.com for a list of food items needed and to schedule a drop-off time outside that window.
Volunteer. Volunteer sign-ups will be posted on O:SS’s website and social media at noon on Dec. 1. Shifts will include food boxing on Dec. 6-7 and helping organize the toy workshop / making deliveries between Dec. 8-22.
Sing your heart out at Christmas Karaoke. Chevy Chase Inn will host a Christmas Karaoke night to benefit Operation Secret Santa on Dec. 19 (note: this event was initially scheduled for Dec. 5; this has been edited/updated from the original article).
More details can be found at www.operationsecretsanta.org, or at Operation: Secret Santa on Facebook or Instagram.