Summit’s Santa Claus Shop
The Santa Claus Shop will open its doors once again to area families, providing its 54th consecutive year of complimentary holiday shopping. The shop serves more than 400 low-income families and senior citizens from Summit and other local communities, including New Providence and Berkeley Heights, who are referred by local social services agents.
This year’s Santa Claus Shop will be held in the parking lot at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 587 Springfield Avenue in Summit. Although families cannot shop the way they have in the past, due to the pandemic, we are still committed to making this experience enjoyable for all the families.
The Santa Claus Shop has had to rethink how we run this year’s event due to COVID-19. Unfortunately, we cannot have everyone in the building selecting their own items and getting them wrapped. In an effort to keep everyone safe and follow state guidelines, we will be socially distanced in the parking lot of the church where the families will get a bag of goodies we have put together. Our local volunteers will be responsible for ensuring social distancing is being properly adhered to, setup, distribution of prepackaged bags and cleanup.
The Santa Claus Shop is chaired by Summit residents, Lauren Bialek, Susan Campbell, Maritess Manaluz and Marnie O’Connell and co-chaired by Elaine Chong, Nev DiPetrillo, Celia O’Rourke, and Teal Rodriguez. The Santa Claus Shop exists solely on donations and volunteers. With the monetary donations from area residents, local organizations and businesses, the Santa Claus Shop can purchase the gifts that allow less fortunate neighbors to experience the joy of holiday giving without financial burden.
To keep the holiday spirit alive for local residents in need, and this year more than ever, the Santa Claus Shop chairwomen ask for members of the community to consider giving. Checks can be made payable to SHIP, with Santa Claus Shop noted on the check’s memo line, and mailed to the Santa Claus Shop, P.O. Box 119, Summit, NJ 07901. The ability to make an online donation is also available at summitsantaclausshop.com. To find out more information or get involved please visit our website or follow us on Facebook at Santa Claus Shop – Summit, NJ.
