Letters to Santa Charity helps thousands of Stanislaus County students, parents this holiday season
Some of Santa's helpers were spotted in Turlock, stuffing bags filled with toys.
It's all part of an annual holiday event bringing much-needed cheer to students in need.
This year, the Letters to Santa Charity is helping more than 2,200 students and their families in Stanislaus County.
Representatives from 32 schools are taking part in the workshop, gathering items for every student on their list.
"I mean how could you not be happy here?. Yeah, you're helping out kids," said Sharile Abbasi, the principal at Brown Elementary in Turlock.
He's shopping for 130 students from his school and is thankful for this event.
"It's so wonderful to know that our district supports those needs through FRC, but more importantly, we can partner with agencies like Letters to Santa to supplement what we do for our students as a district," Abbasi said.
As teams of schools arrive at their designated times, Santa's helpers guide them through aisles of toys, clothing items and this year, shoes.
Betty Julian is the president of the Letters to Santa Charity, saying students are selected by their teachers based on their specific needs.
"They've lost a parent, or their parent has lost a job or they're working three jobs, and they still can't make ends meet," Julian said.
It's the reason why the charity aims to help both the student and their families.
"We want to make sure that every single child in our community has warm clothes to wear, has the essentials to go to school, has food in their belly, and some happiness," Julian said.
Once the bags are filled, Santa's helpers tie them up and ship them to hundreds of well-deserving children.
All of this is made possible through fundraising year-round. Julian says it's never too late to donate.
"I guarantee you we will have a multitude of additional families and children that will need help and we will need the resources to do that. So please help us and think of us during the holiday season," Julian said.
CBS Sacramento is partnering with the United Way to make the season brighter for those in need throughout the region.
Now through Dec. 14, donate a new unwrapped gift to the CBS13 Good Day Season of Giving.