Santa's Workshop Brings Cheer to Esperanza Families

Marshmallows flying, ribbons tying, 80 girls in the 5th through 8th grades filled Santa's Workshop at Esperanza Academy on December 15. Great Women to Know sponsored the annual event for the first time in 2008, providing craft materials, wrapping supplies and volunteer supervision to help the girls create handmade gifts for their families and friends for the holidays.

Each grade took a shift in the Workshop, bursting with energy and excitement in advance of the holiday break. The girls each made five gifts: a homemade cocoa kit, complete with mix, marshmallows and peppermints; a cool suncatcher, made from a CD decorated with sparkly paper, stickers and jewels; and a decorated flower pot with a paperwhite bulb inside. Esperanza volunteer Kathy Durland supplied the materials for a cozy fleece scarf with fun fringes, and perfume samples or scented candles wrapped in tulle. GWTK's Margaret Hamilton fashioned festive gift tags to add the perfect finishing touch to each creation.

The air was filled with cocoa powder and spirited chatter about the intended recipients of each gift: my grandmother, my little brother, my sister's boyfriend. There is no doubt that this effort brought joy into each and every one of the girls' homes this holiday.

Thank you to all the GWTK volunteers who made Santa's Workshop such a smooth-running success; no easy feat when one does the math: six hours, 80 girls, five gifts, and lots and lots of sugar: Denise Bordonaro, Maureen Campaiola, Susan Carlton, with daughters Annie and Jane, Margaret Hamilton, Meg Rokos and Emma Wood.