Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

Thousands of children and individuals throughout Utah County were provided a spark of Christmas this year — and for the past 38 years — thanks to the volunteers, community leaders and workers at the United Way of Utah County.

It was nearly 40 years ago when this mixed group of good-deed doers decided to find a way to provide Christmas help to families through one organized program instead of all working individually and potentially duplicating efforts, according to Bill Hulterstrom, president and CEO of United Way of Utah County.

Sub for Santa doesn’t just provide Christmas presents for familes, there are many other services and programs for residents.

“As families go through the application process, they not only provide information to receive Christmas help, but they are also connected to additional community resources that can help them get back on their feet again,” Hulterstrom said.

So, just what do volunteer’s sign up for? What do the children and others get?

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

“The children receive a few toys through Sub for Santa, but they also receive essential clothing or cold weather items along with a number of books,”Hulterstrom said. “We’ve found that many of our Sub for Santa families don’t have a lot of books in the home, and we hope to help families start their own personal home libraries.”

Sub for Santa isn’t just a hand out, but a hand up. It helps those who may need a little more than others.

This year, the stories were just as heart-wrenching as in years past, but there were a bit fewer because of the local economy. Health conditions and the effects of COVID-19 appeared to be on the top of the list that were keeping families down on their luck.

In 2021, there was a total of 5,343 individuals that were helped. That includes 1,660 families consisting of 4,715 children. There were also 628 Golden Angels helped, which includes seniors, special needs adults and children.

“We helped slightly fewer families than last year, as would be expected with a better economy, this year we were able to help more special needs children and adults through our Golden Angel program,” Hulterstrom said.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

“We partnered with numerous nonprofits and care centers to make sure we were able to reach all those who needed help. We also partnered with social workers from most schools in our valley to provide one centralized location for families to get Christmas help,” Hulterstrom added.

In all, United Way has 906 unique sponsors who helped create Christmas for these families. About 46% of families had never received help before.

With all the helping, there are still times families or individuals get overlooked.

“At 4 p.m. Christmas Eve, we found a small family that had fallen through the cracks,” Hulterstrom said. “I reached out to a generous volunteer whose family stepped up and went shopping and delivered Christmas two hours later. We are so lucky to have such a caring and kind community.”

When all the presents are delivered, and volunteers have celebrated their own Christmas traditions, it’s time to get back to work. Most residents are unaware that Sub for Santa is a year-round program that helps families in myriad of ways.

“Many of our sponsors and donors supported our Sub for Santa Plus program, a program designed to help our Sub for Santa families and families like them beyond Christmas,” Hulterstrom said. “We have many generous donors who love to give at this time of year and who also want their donation to continue making an impact throughout the year.”

The Sub for Santa Plus program will provide needed support such as food assistance, parenting classes, educational support, and medical and dental care to families in need. Donations of money and time are welcome to help this part of Sub for Santa.

Surely as the last candles in Halloween pumpkins are blown out next Oct. 31, The Sub for Santa program will be ready to start matching volunteer with families for Christmas.

Just like Santa’s workshop at the North Pole, the good folks at the Sub for Santa program at the United Way of Utah County are working year-round to make lives of children and those in need better.

Newsletter