For the fourth year, Secret Families Christmas Charity of Hamilton County has made Christmas for those in need. Saturday, approximately 280 volunteers came together to give 30 local families, totaling over 150 people, a full Christmas experience.
Tom Flanagan, Head Elf for Secret Families of Hamilton County told The Reporter, “Our inspiration was the same program going on in Delaware County and we saw there was a place for it in Hamilton County. They had been doing it in Delaware County for 10 years. A good friend of ours had started it up there and we started talking about Hamilton County. Contrary to popular belief, there is need in Hamilton County.”
According to Flanagan, they provide a complete Christmas for the whole family.
“We work with the local elementary school guidance counselors and principals to identify families that will not have Christmas without intervention,” Flanagan said. “We then call to interview the families for sizes, wants and needs. Every individual in the household will get a bag of wrapped presents specifically for them. If needed, we give them a live Christmas tree complete with the base, lights and ornaments.”
Michael DeWitt, owner of the IT consultancy company Midtown Technology Group, has also been moonlighting with Santa Claus for the last four years. According to DeWitt, Secret Families buys, wraps and delivers all the gifts in just one day each year.
“We start at Meijer at 6 a.m. where we buy everything,” DeWitt told The Reporter. “We then go to Wasson’s Nursery in Fishers. We wrap presents at Wasson’s in the greenhouse. Hamilton Southeastern High School has been nice enough to help us with parking. We will shuffle volunteers back and forth, but we will delivery everything right from Wasson’s.”
Flanagan explained that this Christmas experience is not just about presents and decorations, but also about providing basic needs.
“Each family gets a family bible with a $50 gift card from Meijer inside to buy their Christmas dinner,” Flanagan said. “We also give an ‘in kind’ bag. Most of the families that we serve are either on welfare or food stamps. They can’t buy personal care or household care items with those funds. So we have toilet paper, paper towels, house cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, bath soaps, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and those kinds of items. This year – I don’t know if we will be able to do this every year—every family will receive a food box with about 50 pounds of non-perishable food items.”
Flanagan called the corporate sponsors “absolutely wonderful.” He named several, including Meijer in Noblesville, Chuy’s Tex-Mex Restaurant in Hamilton Town Center, Wasson’s Nursery and Outdoor Living Center on 126th Street, Anchor Health Chiropractic’s Dr. Mitch Borgman and his wife Heather, Irving Materials, The Fishers Exchange Club, Kiwanis in Noblesville and Star Heating and Cooling in Fishers.
After a long day of giving, DeWitt told The Reporter Saturday afternoon, “Today, as always was a humbling experience, and we are thankful we could help 30 Hamilton County families.”
Photos provided