Editor:
    We are writing to correct the many inaccurate statements made about the Secret Santa program in your Nov. 30 front page story. Your reporter and the social services director with whom he spoke must have miscommunicated. “Secret Santa” is not 12 mysterious people who hand out wrapped gifts to 17 hand-picked families on a secret day, nor do our volunteers make up any shortfall with our personal resources. Your article created an entirely false image of our program which we can only hope this letter will dispel.
    “Secret Santa” is a small nonprofit corporation registered with the Maine Secretary of State. We have a board of directors, which includes the three general assistance officers of the Towns of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel. They handle our application process because they are in a position to know which families in our community need our program. We make every effort to be certain that we serve only families who truly need our help.
    The other board members are local residents who donate their time to organize and carry out this community-wide effort to make sure that no child in our three towns goes without Christmas presents due to their family’s lack of financial resources. We put tags on trees in area banks describing the specific gifts - predominantly clothing and some toys - which have been requested by the children’s parents. Many members of our community take a tag, buy the item and return it to us for distribution. Many others donate money to the organization. Those funds are used by volunteers who shop for the gifts on unclaimed tags. We assemble packages for each family which are then distributed by the general assistance officers. (By the way, we leave the wrapping to the parents so that they can enjoy that part of the giving process!)
    Secret Santa could not operate without the contributions from caring, generous people who take the gift and cash donation tags from our trees. The cooperation of the local banks is instrumental to our program, as well. We also benefit from donations of goods and services from some area businesses. It is truly a community effort.
    We hope that everyone who donates will understand that there is nothing “mysterious” about Secret Santa. We do respect the privacy of the people we help and the volunteers do not seek to publicize themselves. Rest assured, we are your neighbors, people just like you who give our time to this worthy cause because we believe in the spirit of Christmas. Some of us also take a tag and buy a gift, but we cannot and do not fund the program ourselves. We do what we can each year with the gifts, both large and small, that we receive from our donors.
    Our slogan states that Secret Santa is looking for “a few good elves,” but we actually need many. For 20 years now our community has supported this effort. Please don’t be confused: we do need your help. Our work is just about done for this year. But a year from now when you see the Secret Santa tree, if you would like to help make a needy local child’s Christmas wish come true, please take a tag, buy a gift, be a Secret Santa!

Secret Santa
Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Arundel