Brown Santa: Gearing up for a great year

By Leesa Teale

LPR Publisher                            

    The Caldwell County Brown Santa toy drive never stops. But now is their busiest time of the year making sure that well over 100 children, ages 0-15, have presents under the tree on Christmas morning. 

    Michelle Rodgers, Brown Santa organizer since 2008, is the backbone to the much-appreciated event. Rodgers explained that although donations are heaviest during the holiday season, anyone can make a toy or monetary donations throughout the year. “We store toys year-round for Brown Santa. We also accept the monetary donations and save those as well.” 

    The event is not an easy task by any means but very worthwhile. When asked why she has led the Brown Santa event for so long, Rodgers quickly said, “I do it for the kids. My goal is to make sure, to the best of our abilities, that every kid has something on their Christmas list, to open on Christmas morning. There are some things that we simply cannot afford to give but we try our hardest to match every child with a want they have expressed.” 

Parent communication is heavily relied on during this process explained Rodgers.  One parent this year simply asked for clothes for her children. 

     The application process closed on December 5 for this year and items are now being matched up with children’s lists. Once all donations are on-site, those items will be applied to each list. “There are some items that will not be donated, and we will have to go shopping to make sure some of those things are bought and delivered,” Rodgers said. “We’ve already done some shopping for certain things such as clothing, but we will need to do more,” she continued. 

     If you would like to donate there are several locations that you can place items in the Brown Santa Barrels. Those locations are Dollar General in Dale located at 2020 Old Colony Line Rd and in Martindale at 16885 San Marcos Hwy. You may also drop off at Snap Fitness at 417 E Davis St. in Luling or 605 State Park Rd., Lockhart. The Caldwell County Sheriff Office is also taking donations at their location of 1204 Reed Dr. in Lockhart. If you are a business and would like to be a drop site, you may get a barrel by contacting Rodgers.

   Donations are coming in from businesses and individuals alike. Tractor supply recently donated $500 towards the cause with several people dropping off items like bikes, stuffed animals and more. Rodgers stresses that they need new, unwrapped toys. Please no used items. 

    There is also a money jar located at the Caldwell County Justice Center located at 1703 S. Colorado St in Lockhart. “People go thru the security gate and the jar is located there so if anyone just wants to empty their pockets and drop their change in the jar, it all helps,” stated Rodgers. Brown Santa is a 501(c)(3) organization that is 100% non-profit. All monetary donations are tax deductible as well. 

v   VFW Post 8927, located at 7007 US 183 outside Lockhart, invites everyone to join them as they are hosting a Spaghetti Dinner on Friday, December 12 where all proceeds and toys will be donated to Brown Santa. Kids 12 and under eat free but so can adults if they bring in a toy. The meal starts at 4pm and the DJ entertainment will start at 7pm. 

    Rodgers encourages everyone to participate if they can in Brown Santa as it does bring smiles and joy to those children they server. For more information you can contact Rodgers at 512-359-4507 or email at Michelle.rodgers@co.caldwell.tx.us.