How the Organization Functions
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About Community Christmas Scituate Community Christmas General Description/History Founded in 1989, Scituate Community Christmas is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization formed to help provide food and new Christmas gifts to Scituate families who are faced with economic hardship or other circumstances during the holiday season. Since 1989, Scituate Community Christmas has served hundreds of families needing assistance. Prior to 1989, various organizations in Scituate provided assistance to residents. Scituate Community Christmas now fulfills the need during the holidays. Other organizations are able to save their resources for the remainder of the year. The organization’s focus is children and the elderly without family in the area. There is a strict residency requirement; all recipients must reside in the Town of Scituate. Legal Status Scituate Community Christmas is recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal Revenue Service (Federal Identification Number 22-3051383). Scituate Community Christmas files annual reports with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Secretary of State and Attorney General. All reports are current. The organization is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors. Current Directors Current Executive Director: Susan Phippen The organization also has a Criteria Committee, comprised of three members of the Board of Directors, which makes decisions on recipients who do not meet set normal criteria for assistance. Scituate Community Christmas serves all faiths. Requests for assistance may come from a variety of sources. Clergy, social workers, neighbors, friends, and concerned others may submit names of families who may need services. Families are contacted to verify need, along with the information necessary for Santa to choose appropriate gifts for each child. Special requests are filled if at all possible. How The Organization Functions Scituate Community Christmas tailors gift giving to the individuals being served. Some shopping for special requests is needed. Wrappers are always needed. In any given holiday season, approximately 2,000 individual gifts are wrapped. Deliveries are made by a group of Scituate Fire Department personnel, under the direction of Captain Brian McGowan. Most deliveries are completed prior to the school Christmas break so that children don’t see the deliveries. Scituate Community Christmas does not have a permanent location. After moving from place to place the first few years, the Knights of Columbus Hall has been made available for the past several years. The organization’s long-term goal is a permanent location. Activities begin the Monday after Thanksgiving and is normally completed by December 23. Though there is no deadline for requests, Scituate Community Christmas volunteers complete work early in order to spend time with their own families. At the Knights of Columbus Hall, hours are as follows: Noon to 3 p.m. Seven Days a Week Donations made be made during these hours. These are also the hours that gift wrapping takes place. Santa Stroll Scituate Community Christmas sponsors a holiday party for the residents of Scituate. Normally held on Saturday of the first full weekend in December, the party is free of charge. Santa arrives at the Town Pier with the Harbormaster, and he rides with the Scituate Fire Department to the party. All activities, including pictures with Santa, music, craft projects, and refreshments, are free to all.
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