By Deb Risden
Saturday, Dec. 6, marks the 24th year that El Paso County School District 49’s Transportation Department has hosted Santa’s Toy Express. The event includes about 50 children, ages 4 to 8, each year for a day of holiday activities.
The successful program has not changed much over the years, said Shauna Orth, transportation operations manager. The children are picked up by D 49 buses and brought back to the district’s transportation center for breakfast, a puppet show, ornament making and face painting. Santa arrives in the morning, not by sleigh — by a fire truck from Falcon Fire Protection District.
The buses take the children, chaperoned by volunteers, to Walmart with a gift card to buy presents for their family members. When they return, they wrap their packages.
The children receive presents, too. Each student gets a new winter coat and gloves, a backpack with school supplies, toys and a stocking. Orth said two women in the community continue to provide handmade fleece blankets for the children, as they have for many years, and the Dollar Tree at Citadel Crossing donates most of the stocking stuffers.
Orth said a letter is sent to all the D 49 elementary schools prior to the event asking for the names of up to 10 students who are facing hardships during the holiday season. “We never know what their hardships are, but we know we have children who could be facing major illness, a parent who has passed away or has a major illness, or maybe difficult financial issues in the family,” Orth said.
Once she receives the names, families are contacted, given an explanation of how the event works and are asked for permission to allow their child to participate. “We usually end up with 50 to 55 students. We don’t turn any away,” she said.
The event is run solely by volunteers within the school district. There are student groups such as Falcon High School’s Space Force JROTC program that help with breakfast and other tasks. Last year, there was a shortage of volunteers, so this year Orth put the word out early in the district about the need. “This year has been great with volunteers,” she said. “Most of our volunteers are within the transportation department itself.”
Hosting an event such as this can be costly. Orth said it costs about $9,000 each year. The department fundraises all year long and relies on donations. Orth said they don’t receive donations from individuals. “It’s usually businesses that donate,” she said. “This year, we have received a lot less than in prior years. Fortunately, there was some money left in the event account from prior years to help make up the difference for this year’s shortfall.”If someone would like to donate new items, they can email shauna.orth@d49.org or call 719-494-8975 to find out what is needed. Monetary donations can be made by check made out to School District 49 with a note in the memo line indicating the funds are for Santa’s Toy Express, and mailed to D 49 Transportation Department, 11971 Swingline Road, Peyton, CO 80831, Attn: Shauna Orth.
Falcon High School’s Space Force JROTC volunteers serve breakfast to children attending the Transportation Department’s annual Santa’s Toy Express event.
