Saturday night was cold outside but the Bath Elks Club was rocking the Jingle Jam 2016. It was a raging success with appearances by Santa and Elvis was in the house! Savannah Slocum, Higmo, Tweed, Marshall Nelson Trio, and Truck Works rounded out the musical entertainment. Cash raised was $5781 and will be exceeded when the toy valuation is completed… there were seven bags full of toys taken to the workshop. A special shout out goes to all the volunteers that put this wonderful event together and we all look forward to planning next year’s extravaganza. If you visit the Facebook page, you can see all the great photographs posted, taken by Jillie V Photography.

And what could be better than a great Saturday night? Well, I can personally attest to the fantastic spread put on by The Taste of Maine on Sunday! Piles of toys covered the front room next to the entry way as hundreds of dinner guests handed in toys in exchange for a buffet meal that literally cleaned out the cupboards. It took several trucks, vans, and cars to carry all the donated toys back to the workshop where they will be sorted, counted, and valued so that a final report can be issued. The check from Joshua’s Tavern Annual Auction in Brunswick held on the 1st, came in and was in the amount of $9,463.

The whole week was tremendous! Senior elves have been visiting area businesses to personally gather the contributions and the listing will follow, but please, if your business was missed somehow, you can still mail in a check or call us and an elf will come right over and pick one up!

The list of contributors from last week picks up with December 7th: Ken Toothaker, Jr. donated a bicycle and several board games, Aunt Col & Uncle Gene $25 in memory of their nephew Nick Orman, Nancy Randolph & Peter Caron Sr $25, The Albee Family $100 in memory of Anna Maria, George & Letty Race $50 given in loving memory of their son Kevin Race, Hazel McIntire & Madelyn Bailey $25, XI Beta Chapter $50, Celeste & Brian Perkins $50, John & Sheila Hewitt $25, Ronald Paradis $50, and Peter & Judy Labbe sent in $100 for Making Christmas bright in memory of Alex. Due to space constraints, donations received on December 8, 9, and 10 will be in the next edition. We are blessed to have so many contributors that they won’t all fit in one article!

The Santa Fund accepts donations of new toys, games, hats, mittens, gift cards, or cash, which may be brought to the Elks Club at 179 Park Row in Brunswick, or on Lombard Street in Bath. Just ring the doorbell and someone will assist you. All donations will be published in the Times Record in the manner you wish: by name, in memory of a loved one, or anonymously. It will be our pleasure. We are a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax deductible to extent of the law. Please visit our Facebook page “The Santa Fund, Inc.” LIKE us and SHARE us! Help spread the word.

As always, we ask our readers for assistance in getting out the word. Our mailing address for applications and donations by check or money order is:

The Santa Claus Fund

P.O. Box 278

Brunswick, ME 04011

The Santa Claus Fund provides gifts to boys and girl aged 6 months to 13 years old as of December 25, 2016 who physically reside in the towns of Brunswick, Litchfield and all of the towns in Sagadahoc County: Topsham, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Richmond, Harpswell, Bath, West Bath, Phippsburg, Woolwich, Arrowsic, Georgetown, Five Islands, Sebasco, Orr’s & Bailey Island, and Cundy’s Harbor.

The custodial parent or legal guardian is the only person who may apply. The address for applying is the P.O. Box listed above. If you know someone who could use some help, please share this information. To receive assistance, both the children and the adult applicant must be legal residents of a town in our distribution area. Only one letter will be accepted, so in the instance of split custody where parents live in different towns, the town where the child attends school will be used to determine which parent may apply. If you have a question regarding this policy, you may call for clarification. Our telephone number is 207-751- 6385.

Applications will be accepted until noon on December 17, 2016. We try to fill the applications the day after receipt. Please call us a few days after mailing your letter for your gift box number and pickup location. We will also try to reach you, but will not leave a message with a child.

Each letter must include:

1) The name and the physical address, as well as a daytime telephone number of the adult applying. If we have any questions, we will call for clarification. A Post Office box address will be rejected.

2) The first and last name of each child, gender, age, and date of birth must be included. No exceptions! We ask for gender because not every name is only used for a boy or girl and Santa’s Elves don’t want to be embarrassed for their gift selections.

All boxes will be delivered to the distributions sites of Bowdoinham Town Hall, Richmond Fire Station, Brunswick Elks Club and the Bath Elks Club on December 19th with the pick-up date to be on Tuesday, December 20th. Please make arrangements early to go to your location to get the box(es) for your family. When you call for your box number, you will be told which site to go to. Remember to bring a photo ID or send a note with a designated picker-upper if you cannot come. That person will also need a photo ID. Some boxes are large, so be prepared. You will need a vehicle to bring your box home.

Watch this space for updates, as donations are received. Let’s make our 49th year better than ever! HoHoHO!