Sneaking a peek at Santa’s army

Joanne Buick has known about the colourful, strong, Santa Claus Fund gift boxes for years.

A number of years ago, the Etobicoke retiree’s young sons used to deliver the boxes — imprinted with a different bright seasonal pattern every year — to families as volunteers with Scouts Canada.

“I’d hear about them and I knew from what they said that the families who got them were thrilled to get them,’’ she recalls. “But I didn’t know what was in them.’’

Now she does, because for the past four years at this time she’s been volunteering one afternoon a week at the Toronto Star’s secret Santa warehouse. That’s where thousands of Santa Claus Fund boxes are filled with an assortment of items that will delight — and warm (literally) — the child opening them.

A winter top, hat, mitts and socks are part of the age-specific boxes that are delivered by volunteers to 45,000 families in the GTA. But there’s also a book and small toy, as well as candy and a toothbrush and toothpaste to take care of the teeth after the candy.

“The books are really quality — I was impressed,’’ said Buick, a retired teacher who knows a thing or two about which books are good and will appeal to children.

Buick has packed boxes, but she’s also part of the “shopping crew.’’ Volunteers at the warehouse are given lists of families and assigned to pick age-appropriate boxes, then assemble and label them. Every child gets his or her own box, so sometimes there are little “mountains” of packages all tied together, ready to be taken to a family.

“I was blown away when I did the shopping by the number of families with so many children. I remember one where there were seven children under the age of 12. And there were even families with two sets of twins,” she said.

She enjoys working with the rest of the volunteers and contributing to a cause that is so worthwhile. “There still is such a need,’’ she says, to help the many children in the city who live in households that don’t have money to buy necessities, let alone little extras.

Buick is one of about 860 volunteers at the Santa warehouse who help set up, pack, assemble and label the boxes during the week. Another group works Saturdays, said Barbara Mrozek, director of Toronto Star Charities and Philanthropy. The warehouse alone involves about 1,700 volunteer hours annually, Mrozek said.

Another set of volunteers help deliver the boxes to various depots in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Ajax and Pickering; others oversee the operation, and a whole slew of additional volunteers pick up the boxes at the depot and hand-deliver them to families.

Santa doesn’t have this many elves! If you have benefitted from the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.