Bringing joy to the children, collecting help for the needy
When Santa is in his suit riding around with Rutland-Dundee firefighters and their trucks, it doesn't feel like a recession. It's cold and it may feel more like Halloween, but it doesn't feel like a recession.
Parents and their children run out of their houses to meet the firefighters and Gilberts Elementary School employees masquerading as Santa. And they are excited to give them such treats as canned food and new toys for needy families.
There's no anxiety or talk of headlines heralding the latest jobless numbers. It's just Santa listening to Christmas wishes and taking what the families give him.
"It's fun; people look forward to this," said Rutland Fire Chief Richard Thomas. "Residents plan parties around these nights. They all get together and give us so many items."
And when they are taking them, Santa, the firefighters and Gilberts Elementary School teachers aren't thinking about the joy the toys and good will give to needy families, they're caught up in a crowd of smiling eyes.
And when they drive away to another part of the neighborhood, they wonder where they will store the items until the charities take them.
Twenty-five years ago, the food and toys filled a couple of ambulances. But with all the new homes in Gilberts and Sleepy Hollow, they now fill half of the Route 72 firehouse.
"In 1985, we did the entire run in two nights. Now, it takes us six days," said DeDe Adams, president of the Rutland Dundee Firefighters' Association.
The association coordinates the runs.
"We only needed a couple of people to put it together then. Now, we need a lot more."
In that crowd of volunteers are teachers and custodians from Gilberts Elementary School. They help the children on and off the trailer Santa's sleigh rides on. They also help with crowd control and taking the items from the families.
"We'll see a lot our students out there," said kindergarten teacher Susan Raab. "I'm glad they see us doing this."
The Santa Run started last weekend in Gilberts and Sleepy Hollow neighborhoods.
They will continue at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12. With sirens blaring and red and blue lights flashing, Santa and the firefighters will drive through Old Town Gilberts and Gilberts Town Center and Windmill Meadows neighborhoods.
On Saturday, Dec. 13, they will drive through neighborhoods west of Sleepy Hollow Road starting at 3 p.m. On the following day at 3 p.m. they will drive through neighborhoods west of Sleepy Hollow Road.
"This is like trick or treating, but in the cold," said Rutland fire Lt. Mike Pugliese, who has been a part of the runs for 13 years. "There's a lot of work involved and it takes about 50 people to pull off, but it's something residents have learned to look forward too.
"We have been doing it for so long that parents who ran up to us when they were kids are bringing their kids out to run up to us."