The Make a Wish Foundation will be getting a donation of more than $300, thanks to the letter-writing efforts of students at El Sierra School.
For every letter written to Santa and delivered to Macy’s, the department store chain is donating $1 to the Make a Wish Foundation. An El Sierra parent whose son was granted a wish by the organization brought the fundraiser to the attention of fifth-grade teachers Maura Prekwas and Meg Adams and asked if they could help. The duo decided to organize a school-wide letter-writing campaign.
Prekwas said that getting the fifth-graders on board with writing to Santa turned out to be easier than they thought. They read the holiday classic “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” before they began their assignment, but the students truly got fired up when they learned that their letters would benefit a charity.
“Even my most skeptical students could not wait to start writing and explaining to Santa why their letter was extra important. It just warms my heart—this is why being a teacher is awesome,” she said.
During the past couple of weeks, students throughout El Sierra School wrote and turned in letters to donate to Macy’s on behalf of the Make a Wish Foundation. Some parents and older siblings also contributed letters to the effort.
There were gift requests for the jolly old elf, such as an Easy Bake Oven, books, crayon maker and snowpants. There were also a number of selfless, non-material requests, and explanations to Santa as to why this particular letter was so important:
“Santa, all I really hope for, for Christmas, is for all the doctors to eventually find a cure for cancer.”
“This letter is for the wishes of thousands of kids.”
“I want all wars to end.”
“I want Christmas to be bigger because people are being less decorative, they also are starting not to believe in you!”
“This note is to help kids who aren't as lucky as me. I hope you give all those kids all they want.”
“Dear Santa, I am writing this to make a wish come true.”
The parent who initially requested the project will collect the letters and send them to Macy’s, Prekwas said.
“We are so excited to help a child get his or her wish,” she said.
