Seven years ago Wojtek Onyszkiewicz (currently President of the "Sharing" Association) founded a new non-governmental organization and was seeking ways to promote it. The idea arose of conducting a large charity drive during the Christmas holiday period. This idea developed into the "Emergency of Saint Nicolas" drive (this is the third year in which our Association has organized it under the new name "Santa’s Elves"). Devised as a promotional tool, it quickly developed into an important crusade engaging hundreds of caring people. This drive consists in providing sacks of Christmas presents to people who cannot count on traditional Saint Nicolas* - mainly to children from poor or disadvantaged families. We receive the addresses of the needy children by people calling a special telephone number, which is widely broadcast in the media. Friends, neighbors and family members call in (a 12-year-old called in and said that he is too old for presents but he has four younger brothers and sisters...)
Only in the course of the drive itself did the organizers realize how important it is not only for the beneficiaries, but also for those participating in it. The first year, the volunteers packing and distributing the presents were mainly Wojek’s numerous friends, whom he had to coax into doing it by begging and blackmailing. Two years later when the drive had managed to establish itself and the help of friends was no longer needed, these same people were upset with Wojtek that he ruined their holidays by not inviting them to participate in the drive.
The presents are donated by both companies and private individuals. We pack the sacks of presents for five age groups: 0-6, 7-10, 11-14, 15-20 and for older people so that, for example, an 18-year-old doesn’t get a baby rattle. The presents are delivered by volunteers wearing Saint Nicolas caps. The idea of the caps originated the day before the first drive after consulting with one small child who said that " Saint Nicolas can’t go around without a cap." The red material was purchased in the evening, just before the stores closed, and the caps were sown all night long by a tailor friend...
Taxi companies also help in distributing the presents - they provide the transportation for the volunteers free of charge. The "Santa’s Elves" drive lasts two days - 23 and 24 December, however intensive preparations begin in mid-October, when tasks are assigned and we begin to seek sponsors, dividing up a long list of producers and distributors of toys, sweets, stationery, clothing and books. We also employ the media which broadcasts information about the drive. Of course, there are also a thousand other things to do.
During this year’s drive, Saint Nicolas visited 1850 children in Warsaw alone and approximately 300 volunteers (mainly young people) participated.
"Elves" were also at work in other cities. We estimate that a total of approximately 4.5 thousand sacks of presents were delivered throughout the country.
* Saint Nicolas - lived at the turn of the III and IV centuries and
was the Bishop of Mira in Asia Minor (currently Turkey). According to tradition,
he was a caretaker of the poor. His cult began to spread across the East
in the VI century and across the West in the XI century. Saint Nicolas
is the patron saint of Ruthenia as well as merchants, sailors, prisoners,
students and young girls. Hagiograhic legend contends he presented gifts
on 6 December and Christmas Eve, 24 December.