Southern Santa of Houston County prepares for another successful year

HOUSTON COUNTY — Southern Santa of Houston County is back in town and ready to serve the community again by helping families in need. 

Fire trucks have been driving through various areas of Houston County for approximately 2 weeks. 

Public Information Officer Shane Shifflett said donations have been light so far. He believes this is due to the recent government shutdown and the community’s struggle. However, he remains hopeful this will be another successful year. 

Shifflett said they are already seeing excitement while doing their routes. 

“The nightly Santa routes has been outstanding. [There are] more people coming out to the streets to see Santa. People are talking about how much they love seeing the trucks with Santa Claus,” he said. “People are bringing out their dogs, the dogs are waving at Santa by people’s assistance of course. Donations are low but we’ll pick up as we move throughout the county. We still have a lot of areas to hit like Perry in December [and] other areas of the county, but we’re hopeful.” 

Shifflett described last year as their biggest year yet. Southern Santa gave out toys to approximately 1,033 children. They also distributed 200 boxes of food to help feed families. He anticipates that this year will create a bigger impact. 

He said Southern Santa recently opened applications and has received approximately 319 in the span of a week. This is triple the number of applications there were last year, according to Shifflett. So far, there are approximately 500 kids on the list. 

“I believe a lot of this has to do with the government shutdown, and families are asking for more help this year. Our information is getting out there a lot better, which I’m very pleased. We’re here to help those people,” he said. 

Shifflett also shared gifts from last year help with their donation shortage so far. He said they added two more donation sites this year, which has also been a positive addition. 

Their donation sites are Rogers Gutters, located at 337 Carl Vinson Parkway, and Mr. Ceiling Fan. Shifflett said they are a huge support system for the organization.

The application is available on Southern Santa’s Facebook page. Shifflett said it is an easy process and explained they do extensive background checks, social media checks, and financial checks to make sure they are a person in need. 

They then go through everyone’s applications, which made volunteers emotional, Shifflett mentioned. 

“We don’t let anybody fall behind. We go through everybody,” he said. 

Then, they decide which volunteers will go to Walmart, depending on the amount of donations, or Olympia Skate Center, where they give the gifts away to applicants. 

Shifflett anticipates the number of applicants will triple by their deadline on Dec.5.

Shifflett also shared that this year, a local business donated approximately 75 turkeys, which were given to applicants the day before Thanksgiving. He said they also bought sides to go with their Thanksgiving dinner.

The organization also partnered with the Future Farmers of America, and a member donated one of their animals they processed. 

Shifflett said they have received a lot of support so far, and people are always ready to see them. One night, he heard a girl scream, “I love you Santa,” and the excitement of other children.

“We wish we could stop everywhere but we run out of time each night,” he said. 

The majority of people involved with Southern Santa are firefighters with a purpose to serve their community. Shifflett also said many of their volunteers are from the Houston County 911 center, who serve as the navigators. 

Houston County Fire Department volunteer and career firefighters and Macon-Bibb firefighters also volunteer to drive the fire truck. 

“We love to give back to the community. It’s just something we love to do as first responders,” he said. 

With Shifflett working in Atlanta, he is thankful to volunteers for helping put out at least one fire truck a night.

Shifflett said that Southern Santa is a nonprofit organization and does not receive any financial support from any fire department or city. He said they rely on donations heavily, and no taxpayer’s money is paying for anything. 

“We’re doing it because we do it,” he said.

To keep up with Southern Santa, visit their Facebook page. Those interested in applying for assistance click here. The application deadline is Dec. 5.