Santa’s Hip Helpers : Teens Make Sure Needy Kids Get Requested Gifts

A lot of people like to portray teenagers as sniveling, selfish, money-grubbing grinches--particularly around Christmastime, said Maria Emerson, a Santa Clara High School senior.

On Friday, the Oxnard girl and about 25 of her classmates set out to change that perception.

Working with a post office official, the Oxnard Catholic school students got a sheaf of letters that poor children had written to Santa Claus. The teenagers then bought the requested gifts using their own time and money, wrapped the presents and carried them to a Ventura post office for delivery.

There, a small group of postal workers pledged to personally deliver the gifts to the children by Dec. 24.

The whole arrangement was orchestrated by 17-year-old Maria, with a little help from her dad.

“It just seemed like a good thing to do,” said Maria as she directed friends in frenzied activity inside Room 18 at Santa Clara High on Friday afternoon.

“OK, everyone,” Maria said to the others, who were busy wrapping Barbies, felt markers, coloring books, more Barbies, a gum-ball machine, action figures, fire trucks and still more Barbies. “If you’re signing the cards, make sure you sign it from Santa.”

It is the second year that the Emersons have directed gift-giving at Santa Clara. Last year, Maria’s older brother, Christopher, helped organize the event, Maria said.

Now that Christopher is a freshman at UC Santa Barbara, the bulk of the work fell to Maria. And Maria said her goal this year is to train students in lower grades so the school can make it a tradition.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing and I hope it continues,” she said. “I also hope students at other schools see what we are doing and follow suit.”

Michael Emerson, an independent film producer, said the idea of helping others has been ingrained in his children for years. His role in the gift exchange has been small, said the eldest Emerson.

He contacted Tom Helmuth, a supervisor at the post office on Santa Clara Street in downtown Ventura, and asked if he could identify letters to Santa from children in low-income neighborhoods.

Helmuth said he was happy to help. His branch normally receives up to 400 letters a year addressed to the North Pole. The 15 letters picked for this year’s exchange come from children in Oak View, Simi Valley, Ventura and Oxnard, he said.

On Friday, 15-year-old sophomore Alice Chung helped wrap a Bubble Barbie. It is important for children to get gifts for Christmas, said Alice, recalling happy Christmas mornings in her own Oxnard home.

“Kids are kids,” she said. “They like magic. They need magic. These are the kinds of things they need to grow up.”

Alicia Johnson, 15, said she was shocked to read letters asking Santa for such basics as socks, pants and “my own bedroom.”

“I am an only child,” she said. “I would always give my dad a big, old list and I usually always got what I wanted.”

After wrapping the 20 or so gifts, Maria and her dad loaded them into their car and drove them to Helmuth’s office. Helmuth said he and two other managers will deliver the gifts over the next nine days.

“If the parents are there, I like to talk to them and tell them how this all came about,” Helmuth said. “Some of them are real shocked that teenagers would take the time to do this. But I think it’s great. It just shows that the younger generation is coming up with good morals and good objectives.”