What happens to the gifts when they leave headquarters?

For those of you that are wondering what happens once gifts are dropped off at Hillside Special Santa headquarters, here is an inside look at how volunteers fill the orders and then how they are distributed to the various programs/services. From there the gifts are given to the children and families.

Volunteers use the wish lists of each youth to fill orders.

Then those gifts are labeled with tags that correspond to the programs/services the youth is in/receiving.

And finally, Hillside staff members from the programs/services come to pick up the bagged gifts for transport to the youth and their families.

Local high schools’ efforts pay off in pennies for Hillside Special Santas

Several of the students that were integral in Batavia High School's winning effort in 98 PXY’s 2007 High School Challenge made the trip up to Hillside Special Santas headquarters Monday, December 17 to help 98 PXY's Kasper present the check for the $27,975.71 (just over 2.7 million pennies!) the contest raised to Hillside Special Santas in a special ceremony.

Three Rochester TV stations came out (See coverage from News 8 Now here and here).

One of the Batavia students, senior Annie Palermo (pictured here) told the story of how they raised a portion of their more than $8,600 donation by putting two teachers up on a roof and taking pledges to keep them up there.

"We had two of our teachers stand on the roof for 24 hours, or however long we could pay to keep them up there," said Annie.

The students estimated that to meet their fundraising goal for the event and to keep the teachers up on the roof the entire time, they needed to receive $120 in pledges an hour.

"We kept them up there for 24 hours, so we made, I think, over $3,000 on that," surmised Annie.

Also on hand were Family First Federal Credit Union's CEO Christine Peters (pictured here to Sally's left) and Director of Branch Operation Karin Allen (pictured here to Sally's right).

After the students from the participating high schools dropped off the pennies, Family First FCU counted them all. Thanks!

Sally also took an opportunity to thank all of the local high school students that participated in the contest. As she says in the video clip below, their efforts will really make this holiday season a very special one for the 5,600 youth and their families Hillside Special Santas is providing gifts to.

Hillside Special Santas a part of Time Warner Cable's 2007 Holiday Day of Giving

Hillside Special Santas and nine Rochester-area not-for-profit organizations were honored at a reception Monday, December 17 as part of Time Warner Cable’s Holiday Day of Giving.

The company divided a $25,000 donation equally among the 10 organizations, which support wide-spread initiatives throughout the community.

“The holidays are a period of giving, caring and helping those in need,” says Terence Rafferty Time Warner Cable Division president (pictured with Sally), adding “We have so many wonderful agencies and organizations in our community that help make a difference in people’s lives all year long, and Time Warner Cable is pleased to help support these agencies for the meaningful services they provide.”

The reception included a formal check presentation of $2,500 to a representative from each agency.

“Time Warner Cable’s efforts are reflective of that special quality that is shown when there are others in need,” says Sally Bohne, Hillside Special Santas manager.

Organizations honored along with Hillside Family of Agencies included: City of Rochester Education Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of Rochester, Inc., The Salvation Army, Visiting Nurse Service/Meals on Wheels, Volunteers of America, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester, ARC of Monroe, Mary Cariola Children’s Center, and the Pirate Toy Fund.

Culinary innovators give to Hillside Special Santas

Wegmans Culinary Innovation Center employees (left to right) Ken Schlageter, Christine Remington, and Cindi Gaesser presented a check for $500 from everyone at the Culinary Innovation Center to Sally and Hillside Special Santas on Monday, December 17.

We thank the Culinary Innovation Center so much for believing this holiday season!

Gamma Phi pitches in!

Members from the Rochester Alumni Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta sorority took some time to give back last week--volunteering at Hillside Special Santas headquarters.

How one elementary school is sharing the spirit of the season

Students in Gates-Chili’s Neil Armstrong Elementary School service club this year are orchestrating a school-wide toy collection drive to benefit Hillside Special Santas this year.

According to Danielle Hoch, fifth grade teacher and service club advisor, the students will be collecting toys until Thursday, December 13. The service club project supports The 40 Developmental Assets of student involvement in the community and the Gates Chili school district.

The students in the service club were in charge of making the posters to promote the toy drive, as well as collect the toys, and deliver them to Hillside Special Santas.

“The kids are super excited and are anticipating the drive’s turn out,” says Hoch, noting that as a community over 12 boxes of toys have been collected thus far with two more days to go.

The Neil Armstrong faculty also wanted to contribute, and as a result, Hoch says they have collected over three boxes of items from the Hillside Special Santas Top 10 list.

The students plan on delivering the gifts to Hillside Special Santas headquarters at 1183 Monroe Avenue in Rochester on Friday, December 14.

This year, Hillside Special Santas has expanded to help more than 5,600 children and their families served by Hillside Family of Agencies in Western and Central New York, so the donations could not have come at a better time.

“For the students to put forth such an effort is truly reflective of that special human quality that is shown when there are others in need,” says Sally Bohne, Hillside Special Santas manager.

For more information on becoming a Hillside Special Santa like the members of the Neil Armstrong Elementary School’s service club, call (585) 256-7630, email santa@hillside.com, or follow the reindeer at www.hillside.com.

MNG update

Reports are coming in this morning that the "MNG" (Most Needed Gifts) at Hillside Special Santas this week are hoodies ("hooded sweatshirts" for those old enough to remember them being called that).

Click here to learn more.

Beanie Babies overtake Special Santas headquarters

Karen Daniel, of Pittsford, has been collecting Beanie Babies for a while. This year, she thought it would be a good time to donate what she has been collecting.
She wanted the toys to go to children who needed them. She learned of Hillside Special Santas through her employer, and the connection was made.
Today, she stopped by headquarters and delivered some of the beanies. She said she still has another delivery to make, but in total, she will donate 750 beanies to Hillside Special Santas this year.
Thanks so much for your efforts Karen!

Help us to meet the most requested gifts need

Hillside Special Santas staff members are hard at work making sure that all of the new, unwrapped gifts that have been donated this holiday season are making their way to the more than 5,600 children and their families that Hillside Family of Agencies serves.

However, Hillside Special Santas staff members are in need of some very special gifts that are in short supply that the children have asked for.

Believe it or not, the most in demand gift being asked for from Hillside Special Santas this week has been (click here to find out).

Help Hillside Special Santas fulfill the holiday wishes of many of the children that Hillside serves by donating the most needed gift of the week through Hillside Special Santas personal shopper tool or contact Hillside Special Santas for more on how to donate.

Thank you for your support of Hillside Special Santas and Happy Holidays!

Deloitte & Touche help out Hillside Special Santas

A great group of Deloitte & Touche employees from the firm's Rochester office stepped up and spent a good portion of the day volunteering. Thank you so much for your efforts!

Look who's volunteering at Special Santas headquarters

Monroe County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo, second from the left, and some of her staff members (Justin Roj, far left; Diana Christodaro, second from the right) spent a morning volunteering at Hillside Special Santa headquarters. Joining them in this photo is our very own Sally Bohne.

Ready. Set. WRAP!

Everybody in Buffalo that likes to wrap presents should plan on joining Hillside Special Santas Holiday Partners WGRZ, 96.1 WJYE, First Niagara, the Buffalo Athletic Clubs, and the BAC for Women at the this year's Holiday Wrapping Party from 8:30 a.m. to Noon this Saturday, December 8, at the Walden Galleria Community Room.

For more information, check out this site.

Sally and the media

All of the TV stations in Rochester came out to cover the Hillside Special Santas headquarters opening ceremony November 28. Here are a few photos from when they interviewed Sally. The reporter is RNews weekend night anchor Rocco Vertuccio.

More from the ribbon cutting ceremony

Here is another video clip from the Hillside Special Santas headquarters opening ceremony. In this clip, Sue Schiffhauer discusses the RAC and RAC for Women locations at which people can drop off Special Santa gifts.

Open for business

As of 11:30 a.m. November 28, Hillside Special Santas headquarters is officially open for the holiday season!
Check out this clip from the ribbon cutting ceremony. The woman cutting the ribbon is Sue Schiffhauer representing Hillside Special Santas holiday partner the Rochester Athletic Clubs and the Rochester Athletic Clubs for Women.

Thank you!

Thank you to the students of Batavia High School, 98 PXY’s 2007 High School Challenge winner, and to all of the local high school students that participated in the contest. Together, these students collected and donated pennies totaling over $27,975 to Hillside Special Santas to help the holiday giving program reach its goal of providing gifts and warm clothing to the 5,600 youth and their families served by Hillside Family of Agencies this year. A special thanks also to Family First Federal Credit Union for counting all of those pennies.

Enjoy the holiday

From everyone at Hillside Special Santas, here's hoping that you and yours have a very happy, healthy, safe, and joyous Thanksgiving!

It's CRUNCH time!

The Syracuse Crunch and News 10 Now are partnering to help Hillside Special Santas this year. You can, too, by dropping off a new, unwrapped gift at the November 23, 30, and December 1 games.

For more info, check out here or here.

On the inside with the Syracuse Crunch

Sally Bohne, Hillside Special Santas manager, recently took some time out from her duties at Special Santas Headquarters to travel to the OnCenter, home of the Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club. She went inside their locker room to talk to the team about Special Santas and what their help meant to her, and the youth and families that are being helped this year.
“They’ve rejuvenated us. Their desire to help the kids and families was just exciting,” said Sally after her locker room talk.
Joining Sally was Heather Van Dyne, Special Santas assistant, and Teri Parks, News 10 Now marketing manager.

Kind & thoughtful action of the day

We had an interesting call today at Hillside Special Santa headquarters.

Webster, NY resident Lorri Edicola called and said that while shopping at the TJ Maxx there, shefound an envelope with three Hillside Special Santas gift tags and $30 in it. Lorri called Hillside Special Santa headquarters to arrange to drop off the envelope because she was worried that if she left it with the store that the children would not get their gifts this holiday. Lorri came all the way from Webster to drop off the envelope. If the person who dropped it could not be found, Lorri said that she would be willing to purchase the gifts.

We sincerely thank Lorri for her kindness and thoughtfulness!

Kick Off at Carousel Nov. 25

Hillside Special Santas today announced that it is partnering with Y94FM, News 10 Now, and Carousel Center to collect new, unwrapped gifts this holiday season in an effort to extend to the community the opportunity to make the holidays more meaningful for Central New York youth and families Hillside Family of Agencies serves.

The effort will kick off on Sunday, November 25 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Carousel Center commons level. On hand will be Y94FM's Kathy Rowe and Marne Mason and News 10 Now’s Lacey Johnson.

Everyone donating a new, unwrapped gift during the kickoff will receive special gifts from Y94FM and News 10 Now, while supplies last. In addition, people stopping by the drop off location can register to win tickets from Y94FM to the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra's performance of The Nutcracker.

The gift collection drive will be ongoing at Carousel Center until Tuesday, December 18. During that time, two Hillside Special Santas-decorated gift collection boxes will be placed in the mall. One will be outside of Old Navy and the other will be near the main entrance to H&M.

We look forward to seeing you out at the Carousel Center!

Hillside Special Santas on WNY Living TV show

Check out this link to hear and see Hillside Special Santas' very own Sally Bohne talk about the program with WNY Living host Maria Genero on Buffalo's WGRZ Channel 2. The show aired on November 17.

If you are reading this from the Buffalo area, be on the look out for information coming soon about the Hillside/WGRZ/WJYE wrapping party happening on December 8.

Hillside Special Santas partners with Buffalo Athletic Club

Hillside Special Santas, announces that the Buffalo Athletic Club (BAC) will be a partner in this year’s effort to make a difference in the lives of youth and families during the holiday season.

The seven BAC locations throughout Greater Buffalo will display in their lobbies a total of 700 Hillside Special Santas gift tags. Each one describes a specific child’s wish. Beginning today, November 20, visitors to any of the BAC locations are asked to remove a tag, take it home, and purchase a corresponding gift. Unwrapped gifts should be returned by December 17 to either the BAC locations in Buffalo, Amherst, Orchard Park, and Williamsville, or the BAC for Women locations in Depew, Tonawanda, or Williamsville.

“The partnership between Hillside Special Santas and the Buffalo Athletic Club provides a unique opportunity to highlight each organization’s focus on health, wellness, and building community spirit,” says Sally Bohne, Hillside Special Santas manager.

Hillside Special Santas & First Niagara Bank team up to help Buffalo youth

November 20, 2007--In an effort to extend the Greater Buffalo community the opportunity to help youth and families there build better futures during the holidays, Hillside Special Santas announces that it is partnering with First Niagara Bank this year.

Thirty First Niagara branches in and around Buffalo will display a total of 1,000 Hillside Special Santas gift tags, each one describing a specific child’s wish, this year in their lobbies. Beginning now, visitors to any of these 30 First Niagara branches are asked to remove a tag, take it home, and purchase a corresponding gift. New, unwrapped gifts should be returned to the branch location by December 17.

Last chance to use up those extra pennies

If you are a high school student in Rochester, you probably already know that the High School Challenge is just about to wrap up.

But if you have any extra pennies that you still haven't dropped off at the Bon Ton wing of Marketplace Mall, now is the time to do it.

From 6:00-9:00 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night (11/16), 98 PXY's Kasper will be on site collecting pennies as part of the station's High School Challenge to benefit Hillside Special Santas. The students donating the most pennies will receive a concert in their school by BOYS LIKE GIRLS on Friday, January 11th.

Rochester Athletic Club in for a second straight year as Hillside Special Santas partner

Hillside Special Santas announces that for a second consecutive year the Rochester Athletic Club (RAC) will be a partner in the effort to make a difference in the lives of youth and families during the holiday season.

The five RAC locations throughout Greater Rochester will display in their lobbies a total of 500 Hillside Special Santas gift tags. Each one describes a specific child’s wish. Beginning November 19, visitors to any of the RAC locations are asked to remove a tag, take it home, and purchase a corresponding gift. Unwrapped gifts should be returned by December 17 to either the RAC locations in Rochester, the RAC for Women locations in Greece, Pittsford, and Perinton, or to Hillside Family of Agencies.

“The partnership between Hillside Special Santas and the Rochester Athletic Club provides a unique opportunity to highlight each organization’s focus on health, wellness, and building community spirit,” says Sally Bohne, Hillside Special Santas manager.

Hillside learns of fraudulent fundraising being conducted in its name

Hillside Family of Agencies has received numerous calls from concerned citizens reporting that there have been at least two confirmed cases of unidentified community members fraudulently representing themselves as agents of Hillside in door-to-door solicitation efforts within the community.

According to Hillside Children’s Foundation President Tom Hildebrandt, Hillside Family of Agencies does not conduct door-to-door fundraising and has not authorized any member of the community to engage in this type of activity on behalf of the organization.

“We would never approve of this type of fundraising nor grant permission to community members to collect funds in this manner on our behalf. It is very unfortunate that our agency is being misrepresented in this way,” says Hildebrandt.

Hildebrandt is also concerned that these fraudulent fundraising efforts will detract much needed attention from Hillside Family of Agencies’ 26th annual holiday campaign, Hillside Special Santas. This holiday season, Hillside Special Santas is expanding to help more than 5,600 youth served by Hillside Family of Agencies–1,600 more than in previous years, by collecting new gifts, cash, and food certificates. To learn how to become a Hillside Special Santa, follow the reindeer at www.Hillside.com.

“This is a critical time of year for us in terms of community fundraising. Hillside Special Santas has dramatically grown and so too has our need for community support. Hopefully, these fraudulent claims will not have an adverse effect on our Special Santas efforts,” says Hildebrandt.

Hillside Family of Agencies representatives encourage community members to be aware of door-to-door solicitors claiming to be raising funds for the local nonprofit. Incident reports should be filed immediately with local law enforcements officials.

Canandaigua National Bank partners with Hillside Special Santas

In an effort to extend to the community the opportunity to help youth and families build better futures this holiday season, Hillside Special Santas announces that it is partnering with Canandaigua National Bank and Trust for a fifth consecutive year.

The bank’s 18 branches will display a total of 1,500 Hillside Special Santas gift tags, each one describing a specific child’s wish, this year on holiday trees in their lobbies. Beginning November 19, visitors to any of the Canandaigua National Bank and Trust branches are asked to remove a tag, take it home, and purchase a corresponding gift. Unwrapped gifts should be returned by December 17 to any of the CNB branches throughout Monroe and Ontario counties or to Hillside Family of Agencies.

“The partnership with Canandaigua National Bank and Trust is truly a gift,” says Sally Bohne, Hillside Special Santas manager. “Through the simple act of making Hillside Special Santas gift tags available at the bank’s many community branches, CNB demonstrates its dedication to youth and families.”

Last year alone, Canandaigua National Bank and Trust helped to collect more than 1,400 gifts for Hillside Special Santas.

The signs are up!

Guess what?!?

The Hillside Special Santas signs are up at Hillside Family of Agencies locations.


This is a sure "sign" (sorry, couldn't help it :-)) that the holiday season is upon us. And, it won't be too long before Hillside Special Santas Headquarters opens.

We here at Hillside Special Santas are working on a really special celebration to commemorate the opening this year, so be sure to check back for news on that soon!

Until then, we'd love to hear your Hillside Special Santas story. Tell it to us here. Thanks!

Reindeer leads the way

To paraphrase a famous holiday tune, You may know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen...but do you know the Hillside Special Santa Reindeer?

This year, this cute little animal is leading the way to learn more about becoming a Hillside Special Santa for youth and families served by Hillside Family of Agencies in the communities in and around Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester.

Here is more info on how the Hillside Special Santa Reindeer is leading the way: http://www.hillside.com/News/nr/2007/nr_110707.htm

If you like the reindeer, be sure to check out all of the different scenes he's in at Hillside.com!

Hillside Special Santas offers hope during the holiday season

Becoming a Hillside Special Santa impacts the lives of so many youth and families throughout central and western New York during the holidays. Here are just a few of the stories about how much your support means to the children and families Hillside serves:

· A family in Crestwood Children’s Center services was too proud to tell anyone they couldn’t afford holiday gifts for their children. A staff member visited the parents one evening bringing toys, books, and a warm sweater for the younger children, and a football, hand-held video game, and Buffalo Bills sweatshirt for the 12-year-old boy. The parents were also given a gift card to a local grocery store so they could purchase special holiday treats. “Who do we thank?” they asked and were told it was a Hillside Special Santa.

· Lia was in a Hillside residential treatment cottage (RTC) last year. She was pretty angry with the world. Her family had been through lots of turmoil and, as a 14-year-old girl with severe behavioral issues, she had been placed in foster homes before coming to Hillside. Lia was not able to be at home during the holidays, so the RTC staff members arranged a holiday time for the family to spend together in the cottage. They shared gifts, made special treats to eat, and played their new games thanks to Hillside Special Santas. At the end of the school year, Lia moved back home and is now attending a Hillside day treatment program.

· A frightened and sad 11-year-old boy and his nine-year-old sister were placed in Hillside therapeutic foster care just before the holidays. They were hoping for adoptive parents and wanted to stay together. An urgent call was placed to Hillside Special Santas for some gifts for these siblings. Since donors were asking what we still needed, we were able to get exactly what they wanted. The siblings were adopted by their foster parents the following Spring. This year they will celebrate a very special holiday as a family.

Thanks to the more than 25 years of generous support from of all of the Special Santas in the community, Hillside Family of Agencies is able to reach out to thousands of youth and families just like in the stories mentioned here each year through Hillside Special Santas.

Individuals, families, students, community groups, businesses, religious organizations, and all others are urged to consider becoming Hillside Special Santas this year and helping to make the holiday season brighter for local youth and their families that are in need.

To learn how to become a Hillside Special Santa, call (585) 256-7630 or follow the reindeer at www.Hillside.com.

Also, if you have a Hillside Special Santas story, let us know. We look forward to your comments.

Hillside Special Santas lines are open and ready for holiday planning

It’s not too early to begin planning for the holidays. And it’s not too early to become a Hillside Special Santa and help youth and families in our community build better futures.

This holiday season, Hillside Special Santas is expanding to help more than 5,600 youth served by Hillside Family of Agencies–1,600 more than in previous years.

“The growth of Hillside Special Santas is truly reflective of that special human quality that is shown when there are others in need,” said Sally Bohne, Hillside Special Santas manager, noting that now is the time to make a difference in the lives of these children and families.

Bohne, along with all of the members of the Hillside Special Santas staff, encourage individuals, families, students, community groups, businesses, religious organizations, and all others to consider becoming Hillside Special Santa this year and helping to make the holiday season brighter for local youth and their families that are in need. To learn how to become a Hillside Special Santa, call (585) 256-7630 or follow the reindeer at www.Hillside.com.

Thanks to the more than 25 years of generous support from of all of the Special Santas in the community, Hillside Family of Agencies is able to reach out to thousands of youth and families each year through Hillside Special Santas. As our needs continue to grow, your support becomes even more valuable.

Gift Drop-Offs

In Rochester:

Special Santas Headquarters
1183 Monroe Avenue

Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(Starting November 28)

Saturday, December 15 & Sunday, December 16 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

In Buffalo & Syracuse

Call or visit Special Santas online for hours and locations nearest you.

Please note

To ensure that our families receive their gifts by the holidays, Hillside Special Santas must receive donations no later than December 17, 2007.

Earlier delivery is always appreciated.

'Tis the Season to Believe

Become a Hillside Special Santa today!

To learn more, please contact Hillside Special Santas Headquarters:

Phone
585.256.7630
315.258.2191
716.848.6416

Online
Follow the reindeer at Hillside.com

Postal
Hillside Special Santas
1183 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14620