Breakfast With Santa Delivers Holiday Smiles To Needy Local Kids

WASHINGTON CROSSING, PA — When the kids inside the Washington Crossing Inn heard Santa was arriving on a fire truck, they ran to the windows to catch a glimpse of the jolly old soul.

It was a priceless moment during a morning of memorable moments at the annual Breakfast With Santa held at the Washington Crossing Inn.

For more than 30 years, the greater Newtown community has launched the holiday season by making the season brighter for Council Rock families facing economic and personal hardships.

The families are treated to breakfast, share their Christmas wishes with Santa and receive a special age appropriate gift from the man of the hour.

The event wouldn't be possible without the Washington Crossing Inn, which provides the space and food for free, and the Council Rock social workers, who supply the invitation list.

In addition, helping to organize this year's event were the Newtown Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club of Washington Crossing, the Upper Makefield Business Association, the Newtown Presbyterian Church, the Upper Makefield Fire Company, the Knights of Pythias and members of the now defunct Newtown Exchange Club, which had organized the event for years.

“We’re super lucky. We get to work with business leaders in the community who help us help our needier families at Council Rock, not only with this awesome event but with many other things,” said Council Rock social worker Mike Fiore who helped arrange the invitation list with social worker Stephanie Warshaw. “We collect presents for them. We also work with all of our local police departments with Shop With A Cop that helps a lot of our families.”

They also work closely with the Newtown Angel Tree project and with the Levittown Give-A-Christmas campaign.

“The cool part about this is that the Washington Crossing Inn does it every year at no charge, which is a blessing and it is often the only time a lot of our families will get to meet Santa,” said Warshaw. “A lot of people in this room have gone through a lot of hardship from family struggles to being financially strapped or having gone through a fire or a loss of a relative. We also have a lot of families who have come from the Ukraine, so we welcomed them today, which is really amazing.

“This takes a lot of people - multiple agencies working together - to pull it off. And certainly a lot of love. Council Rock always comes through for its people. And this is a big, beautiful example of it. It’s pretty amazing.”

This year, more than 200 people were invited to the event, which not only includes breakfast and holiday treats but also delivers gifts to each of the kids.

The special part about their partnership with the community is that it extends throughout the year, said Warshaw. “It has built a relationship between all of us where we are able to have a family that needs help at anytime of the year because people need help not just at Christmas. That
for me is the biggest thing that this program does. It has built a resource for Mike and I as social workers. It started here sitting at this table and talking about this, but the ripple effect is incredible.”

While Council Rock is home to one of the wealthiest communities in the state, about 12 to 13 percent of the districts students are on free or reduced lunch, which is the federal poverty level.

“Out of 11,000 students that’s a lot of kids,” said Warshaw. “A lot of people might think Council Rock is predominately wealthy, and it is, but that doesn’t mean there are so many families that need support.”

Randy Beck and Duane Buck, both members of the now defunct Newtown Exchange Club, have continued their involvement with the breakfast, which they said was always the highlight of the year for them. Randy helps organize the event by coordinating the organizations involved and working with the toy supplier to match each child with an age appropriate toy.

“It’s been a very successful event thanks to the organizations involved,” said Beck. “It’s also very rewarding to see the kids and families having a good time.”

“It’s very satisfying to see the turnout and to hear the appreciation,” added Buck.

When Rotarian Paul Salvatore looks around the room, he sees the community coming together for those less fortunate. “That’s what it’s about. Christmas is about giving. It’s not about getting. And this is just the beginning.

“We’re also distributing gifts donated by the community for the needy through our Angel Tree project. We’ll also be doing meals for people at Christmas. This is a great way to start it. This is what it’s about.”