The close of the 2021 holiday season also marked the successful conclusion of Hillside’s 2021 Special Santa program, presented by KeyBank. The program’s success was made possible by a united Hillside community, including thousands of individual and corporate supporters.
By the end of this year’s annual program, more than 7,000 gifts were distributed to youth and families in need across communities served by Hillside in Western and Central New York, the Southern Tier, and Prince George’s County, Maryland. Those gifts were either purchased directly by donors via Hillside’s Amazon Smile Charity Wish Lists, or through generous donations made at Hillside.com/donate.
Corporate and foundation partners contributed $50,000 in sponsorships for this year’s Special Santa effort. In addition to Presenting Sponsor KeyBank, Hillside is deeply grateful to support from the Glover-Crask Charitable Trust, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust, JK Executive Strategies, Emcor Services Betlem, The Steam Police, The Bonadio Group and Prentice Wealth Management.
Within the agency, Special Santa is a shared commitment among all Hillside employees—in which program staff and support departments come together to ensure gifts are identified and distributed to participating children and families throughout the holiday season.
Special Santa will return in 2022 with more opportunities for community engagement. Thank you to all who participated, and who gave the gift of smiles to thousands of deserving children and families!