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Sweet Charity In Store

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By JOYCE McKENZIE

jmckenzie@tampatrib.com

Published: December 10, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - Most people who peruse the "Dear Santa" letters tucked inside a binder at the Victorian Village gifts and collectible store are not surprised to see a skateboard and bicycle among the items on 5-year-old Dion's wish list.

But, what often bowls them over is his request for a chicken and rice dinner.

Dion is one of thousands of kindergarten through third-grade students from low-income families who, through the Sincerely Santa letter-writing program, hopes his holiday wishes, no matter how large or small, will be granted.

After learning earlier this year about the program from longtime Sincerely Santa volunteer Debra Hoffman of Hoffman Chiropractic Center in Temple Terrace, Stacy Statz is on mission to make that happen.

Statz, who is part owner and director of marketing for Victorian Village, has collected the names and letters of scores of underprivileged children from the Temple Terrace area who, if not for the generosity of store patrons, family members and friends, would most likely receive few or, in some cases, no presents on Christmas.

To bring visibility to her undertaking, Statz decorated a white-flocked tree with handmade ornaments containing the youngsters' names and ages. By positioning it near the register, the project has already caught the attention of many shoppers who are then steered to the binder.

"The children is what Christmas is all about and so this is really exciting to me," she said. "It's exciting, too, because I've already had great support."

Donations of any value are welcome, she said. The gift of socks, for instance, can be given to simply the letter writer or to his siblings as well.

"So far it seems that people are not looking for the easy way out, which is a really big testimonial to wanting to give," said Statz, who also noted that monetary contributions will be used to buy items on the children's wish lists that were not selected by donors.

On Dec. 17 a group of volunteers will purchase the overlooked requests - including those for the children's siblings - at the Wal-Mart in Valrico, a store that traditionally allocates money toward the shopping spree.
Statz is grateful to Hoffman for turning her on to the project.

"I think she's very dedicated to give back to her community. In fact, Debra is the one who gathered the names of Temple Terrace area children," she said.
Statz is also appreciative of the Temple Terrace Police Department, for its commitment to deliver the gifts to the needy children's homes.

"They will also pick up the gifts from our store and keep them in storage until delivery time," she said.
Temple Terrace resident Debbie Bishop has been a contributor to the program almost since its inception in 1987. She is also a frequent Victorian Village visitor, where she recently spotted the Sincerely Santa tree and added several of the children's wish list items to her own Christmas list.

"It touched my heart because it's a way of helping kids right here in Temple Terrace," she said.

"I think it's wonderful that we are doing this," said Victorian Village office manager Lorraine Barra. "Every child deserves a Christmas gift."

GET INVOLVED

WHAT: Sincerely Santa

WHERE: Victorian Village, 6870 E. Fowler Ave, Temple Terrace
INFORMATION: (813) 989-0908

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849.

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