Support Santa's Gift:
History
In 1995, the CEO of Helzberg Diamonds became Santa for the very first time. That year, Jeffrey W. Comment donned the red suit and embarked on a mission to bring a few precious moments of joy to sick and injured children and their families at Christmas. For nine consecutive years, Jeff took two weeks out of his busiest retail season and traveled to pediatric wards across the country. Accompanied by an army of "elves" and boxes of teddy bears, Santa, visited as many as 2,000 kids and families each December. He presented each child with a plush new companion, a photo with Santa and a heartfelt hug.
An outpouring of appreciation from family members, doctors and nurses followed, and Jeff began recruiting other prominent executives to get involved. Chicago's Mark Brant joined Jeff in 1998. Together, they formulated a plan to attract volunteers from all walks of the workforce and all areas of the country.
Following Jeff's unexpected passing in 2004, Mark kept the vision alive. He established Santa's Gift as a registered not-for-profit charity and
took over the reins full time. Today, more than 10 volunteer Santas take a little holiday joy to sick children across the country. Those Santas need your help, and those kids need more Santas.
As the jingle of bells fades down stark white hallways, Santa leaves a trail of bears, smiles and hearts touched by joy. Through your generous contributions, children hospitalized with serious conditions at Christmas are reminded what it feels like to be a carefree kid again. To learn how you can help, please visit Volunteer page to the right and provide us with a way to return a response.