Sub for Santa serves many Sanpete needy
By Matt Harris
Staff writer
12-22-2016
EPHRAIM—Many families throughout Sanpete County are being blessed with a Christmas they thought they wouldn’t have.
Volunteers from all over Sanpete teamed up with the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program to provide toys and other Christmas gifts to underprivileged families in the area as part of Sanpete’s annual Sub for Santa at Snow College West Campus in Ephraim.
Headed by the Sanpete Humanitarian Council, between 40-50 volunteers helped out in the charity effort, and final reports say that the event benefitted almost 900 children all over the county.
“It’s an enormous effect,” Councilman Michael Blair said. “We’ve pretty well streamlined the process over the past several years. A lot of us who volunteer come away glowing, and then the people who come through for the event get a good dose of the juice we feel.”
Most of the toys donated to the cause came from Toys for Tots, while the Council donated several more. Because of the grant received by the council for Toys for Tots, Sanpete coordinated with the Marine Corps Reserve for veterans and military to be there to support the event.
Organized by price and the toy’s intended age range, parents went through with volunteers helping them to pick out Christmas presents for their kids. Mothers and fathers who may have been worried about how to afford presents for their children instead walked to their cars with bags of them.
Natasha Clawson, mother of four, expressed much about the effect of the event on her family. Clawson’s partner, Jerome Taylor, a construction worker by trade, was involved in a car accident not long ago that broke his back, putting him out of work indefinitely.
“It’s helping out a lot,” Clawson said. “We’re getting our kids some stuff they need for their bedrooms. We didn’t get them very many toys this year.”
Having been helped this year, Clawson says the charity is inspiring her to want to get involved on the volunteering side next year.
“At my work (Maverik), we’ve helped out a lot, so I’ve talked with them about volunteering next year,” Clawson said.
At any rate, Clawson says she’s excited to surprise her kids Sunday morning with all their gifts. She hasn’t told them a thing.
