COUNTYWIDE : Santa’s Program Is Staying Afloat

Six weeks before Christmas, Santa Claus sweated Tuesday under a blazing sun in Irvine to announce that one of Orange County’s best-known toy donation programs will continue despite budget cuts and a lingering recession.

“Operation Santa Claus will not die!” boomed Santa Claus, also known as Hank Raymond, an Orange County Fire Department captain and the program’s official St. Nicholas for 10 years.

The county budget ax fell in August when the Board of Supervisors cut a number of programs, including $150,000 for the Operation Santa Claus support staff.

Meanwhile, the recession has left many companies and individuals in a less-than-giving mood.

But organizers of the 29-year-old volunteer program, which provides toys to some 13,000 abused and neglected children in the county, said they hope to raise $500,000 in cash and gifts by Dec. 15.

To help organize announcements and coordinate toy distribution for the program, Orange County Foster Care Auxiliary officials will fill in for the two county workers who normally administer the program.

Organizers are urging people to participate by dropping off new or used toys at one of the county Fire Department stations or at one of the 52 centers sponsored by the Orange County Register. Any cash donations also will be accepted.

Two-thirds of the gifts collected during the program, which runs from Nov. 29 until Dec. 24, are distributed during the holiday season. The rest are taken to the Orange County Foster Care Exchange in Anaheim. The store is open to foster parents each week so they can pick up birthday or graduation gifts for their children.

Raymond acknowledged that the recession may dampen some people’s giving spirit. But, “if the recession is hurting those who have, what do you think it does to people who have nothing?” he asked at a press conference to promote the program. “It’s not a matter of going out and giving a $50 toy or a $10 toy or a $2 toy,” but rather of giving what is possible, he said.

Operation Santa Claus usually does not get the bulk of its gifts until about one week before Christmas, organizers said. To facilitate getting more toys earlier, the Los Angeles Rams will hold a donation program at Anaheim Stadium during their Dec. 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Operation Santa Claus headquarters in Anaheim can be reached at (714) 778-1029.