When a Wal-Mart cashier was little and facing a bleak Christmas, she was thrilled to receive presents from a "secret" Santa, and the memory still makes her happy.

She told Ben Davis High School students that story as they purchased presents for low-income children in their community, helping them see firsthand how their generosity and goodwill lives on, even after the holidays.

For the past nine years, the Ben Davis Key Club has been among the many school organizations helping to provide presents for children at Christmas. This year, the club anonymously sponsored more than 100 children and their siblings in nine Wayne Township elementary schools. To date, the club has helped more than 500 kids.

The club has been able to help so many children because people from throughout the entire school pitch in to help.

"We have a lot of different classes that are involved -- sometimes 20 kids in a class will all pitch in a few dollars," said Blake Vanderbush, a Ben Davis senior. "We also have a few sport teams that do it. So, in our school we have probably hundreds of people that play a part in Secret Santa."

Each child identified by Wayne Township elementary schools as deserving writes a "Dear Santa" letter. The Key Club students read the letters and then fulfill as many of the children's wishes as possible. Each child gets $75-$100 worth of gifts, which includes clothing and toys.

Before Shannon Sullivan, a senior, joined the Secret Santa program, she took for granted the gifts that were underneath the tree for her every year.

"When you actually see the letters where kids are asking for underwear and socks, it makes you realize just how needy they are, and how fortunate you are to have the things that you have and others don't," she said.

The Ben Davis High School Key Club starts its Secret Santa fundraising campaign for the next year faster than most families take down their Christmas lights.

By early January, the club has begun fundraising and organizing the program all over again, in such ways as selling donuts every other Friday.

They raise the majority of the money through reaching out to people and organizations within the community, who provide money, clothing and toys.

Heather Sherman, a junior at Ben Davis and vice president of the Key Club, said Secret Santa is a highlight of her Christmas.

"It really changes the entire holiday for me," Heather said. "Christmas is about giving; it's about joy with other people; it's about helping. So it really makes me concentrate not on getting presents myself and writing a Christmas wish list, but on seeing all these people that have so much less, and just working so hard around the Christmas season to see that they get what they deserve."

REPORTERS: Jake Thornburgh, 13; Tommy Mangan, 10.

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