Support Santa's Visit to Jamaican Children

My name is Dalton Jones and I have had the privilege of staying in and being a very small part of a wonderful community in Jamaica that is very dear to me.

Last year, I was asked to dress up like Santa by a gracious and kind-hearted member of the community and I obliged because I am always seeking productive ways to positively contribute. I had never 'been Santa,' and honestly was a bit apprehensive about it at first, but resolved that if I was ever going to 'be Santa,' then Jamaica may be the best and most fun place to do so. Little did I know that it was much more significant than I initially realized, not only for me personally, but for the community.

I found out that the community had never had Santa visit. Ever. Everyone knows about Santa, just as you might expect, but the most consistent answer I got regarding Santa and Jamaica is that he simply 'doesnt stop there.' How unfortunate, right? Well consider this...if there are little to no means to provide any gifts for kids, why would a message/tale/tradition about someone leaving gifts be propagated by parent(s) sometimes unable to provide even basic needs?

As a kid who grew up with the tradition of Santa and received gifts at Christmas, it was always full of fond memories and sometimes it held even more significance...some of those gifts sparked and shaped my imagination...some of them gave me comfort....other gave me countless hours of fun....and others ignited and fed passions and interests that are still with me today.

When I was Santa last year, the kids were so excited! You could see it all over their faces....from younger to older kids, no one was 'too cool' for Santa.... they were all very excited to meet Santa, get a picture on his lap, and get a gift. It rained the day we did this, but we had enough of a break to make it happen...however there were a lot of kids that didn't come due to the rain. We didn't know how it would go over, but we had about 50 kids and we just barely had enough gifts for everyone...we actually ran out of gifts that I bought but luckily had some gently used gifts that were donated by a member of the community. It was a complete success! The parents were so appreciative and I felt a lot of love from the entire community for helping make this happen.

I would really like to do this again, but I am already certain that it is going to be a much bigger and more popular event than last year. I donate my own time and money to this and am willing to put forth more effort and resources to provide this community and other Jamaican children a tiny glimpse of what we are fortunate enough to have here. I was asked by several to make a fundraising page so they could donate. Monetary donations are desired and the easiest to use...gift donations can work, but shipping gifts presents it's own monetary issue. I am also open to other logistical donations that may make this possible (connections for shipping, discounted/bulk gift buying, etc.). However, the general plan is to purchaae and ship some gifts and also purchase some gifts there to avoid shipping.

Please consider donating!