Operation Santa Gets Assist from Governor, Others

For more than 50 years, the State Employees’ Association/SEIU Local 1984 has been gathering up gifts for needy children around the state of New Hampshire as part of its Operation Santa effort.

At around 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 11, the team of volunteers, along with helpful "elves," like Gov. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, the New Hampshire National Guard, and retired state employees, stocked up a number of Guard trucks to deliver gifts to more than 3,000 kids via social service agencies around the Granite State.

State employees, their families, and others, all committed to spend at least $60 per child on pre-arranged request lists of clothes, toys, bedding, and other items. The gifts were dropped off at the NH DOT hangar in Concord last week. And this week, the trucks were loaded up.

Linda Farrell, the organizer of Operation Santa, called it “a team effort,” with many volunteers helping out to make sure that children had gifts this year.

Hassan thanked everyone involved for “making a huge difference” and called it a great effort to help those in need during the holiday season.

Here’s video footage from this morning.