Elves at Work: Santa in a Shoebox Assembly Wraps Up Christmas Smiles

Turns out, the Racine-area has a bunch of elves ready, willing and able to spring into action to help make Christmas a little brighter for some our less fortunate neighbors.

Diana Anderson Higgenbottom first learned about Santa in a Shoebox in 2009 while she was listening to a Christian radio station, and she thought the program could work here, too. How it works is simple: fill a shoebox with a variety of things specifically targeted to boys, girls, teens, or men or women. Items can range from toiletries to small toys to candy and holiday treats.

She got some of her friends and neighbors interested, a handful of area businesses participated and, in 2011, were able to hand out around 200 boxes.

Now, in 2012, though, more people, businesses and groups than ever before have stepped up to help donate items, money and already assembled boxes. Higgenbottom on Wednesday estimated Santa in a Shoebox would visit 400 individuals or more Friday.

A group of volunteers set up shop Thursday at Piggly Wiggly on Washington Avenue to finish filling and wrapping boxes before splitting up the stash to deliver them in a divide and conquer strategy.