It all started
with a letter.
Seven-year-old Craig was afraid Santa had gotten lost the year before, when no presents came. So he wrote him a letter, and drew him a map to his home.
A group of Seattle friends read that letter and made a promise: no child in our corner of the world should ever wonder if Santa forgot them. Fifty years later, Santa has never once needed the map.
Christmas, every year since
For a child who thought Christmas wasn’t coming, the doorbell rings.
And there he is. Santa himself, elves behind him, arms full of presents, and he knows every child’s name. A tree where there was none. Dinner where the cupboard was bare. A living room full of wonder, and a family that knows someone sees them.
How the magic happens
01
Neighbors give what they can
Every dollar comes from individuals and partner businesses who give so a stranger’s child wakes up to a Christmas. No paid staff. Donations become gifts, not overhead.
02
A parent asks
Behind every application is a deserving parent swallowing their pride so their kids won’t go without. Volunteers call and listen for the one thing each child is hoping Santa remembers.
03
Every gift has a name on it
Volunteers hand-wrap 22,000+ gifts, each chosen for one specific child. The coat in her size. The bike he wished for. Nothing generic; every package belongs to someone.
What December looked like.
Three dozen Santas, vans of costumed elves, and a donated 50,000-square-foot warehouse that becomes the North Pole for two months of the year. Monthly giving is what keeps the fiftieth season possible.
On Whidbey Island the Ranch hosts a Day of Western Fun for groups of children and adults with special needs. It is the part of the Fund that never waits for December.
285 children then.
22,000+ gifts now.
Craig’s letter never reached the North Pole. It reached Francisco’s, a restaurant in Seattle, and Dick Francisco decided that was close enough.
1976
One letter, one restaurant. That first Christmas reaches 285 children in 81 families.
1980s
Routes push beyond King County. The volunteer Santa corps takes shape.
1990s
M-Bar-C Ranch opens on Whidbey Island, the Fund’s first year-round program.
2000s
Eight counties. A donated warehouse becomes the annual North Pole.
2025
22,000+ gifts wrapped and hundreds of new bikes delivered at Christmas.
2026
The fiftieth Christmas.
Ask for a Christmas
Applications open in the fall and close in mid December. Every application is screened with care so our limited resources reach the children with the greatest need.