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The Santa Claus who makes the rounds of the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center in Evansville, Indiana doesn't go by Kris Kringle or Nick. He goes by Pete.Since 1990, "Pete" has been anonymously donating to the Evansville Rehab Center by leaving notes or calling the center to clue them in to a holiday package hiding somewhere in the facility. And like the real Santa, Pete is gone in a wink of an eye -- so no one knows who to thank for $65,000 worth of gifts in almost 20 years.
This year, Pete left a snowman-themed gift bag containing a Christmas tree covered in thirty $100 bills near an evergreen tree on the center's property. (We can't help but wonder if Pete has some DIY elves, or if he's generous and crafty.) His past gifts have paid for special shower chairs for 4-year-old twins with cerebral palsy, and this year's gift will be used to buy Christmas presents for 70 children whose families couldn't afford to shop for toys and goodies.
There's more good news. As in years past, Santa Pete's present arrived with a purple note advising "you will hear from me again."
That's just what charities like to hear, especially with some of the nation's biggest anonymous donors losing their mojo in These Economic Times. David Gelbaum had given nearly $388 million over the past five years to three different organizations -- all anonymously -- but his name was leaked by the ACLU this December with a warning that the hedge fund manager's own financial losses would leave a hole in those charities' budgets that his dollars can't fill.
The news is better on smaller scales. A mystery man walked into a middle school concert at a Reno, Nev., airport this week, flipped the singers a $1,000 casino chip, then vamoosed. Then there's that Canadian gold coin slipped into a Salvation Army kettle in Ohio last week -- it's got a $50 face value, but gold is commanding high-enough prices at the moment that it's been valued at over $1,000.
Want some truly Christmas-y spirit? How about a hand for the secret Santa who gave St. Peter, Minn., $25,000 to restore the holiday decor in the downtown district. If someone's going to haunt you this holiday, who better than the ghost of Christmas "presents"?
