'Santa letters will be answered’, pledges Cork charity head

THE head of a Cork charity is on a mission to ensure every Santa letter gets answered following several heartbreaking requests from children across the city.

Caitríona Twomey from Cork Penny Dinners said she has received three letters from children who presented to the charity with their parents in recent days.

She has promised to personally deliver the letters to Mr. Claus amid serious concern from families unable to make ends meet.

She read an extract from one of the letters which came from a six-year-old boy with a special wish for a bike.

“Dear Santa, I’m writing to you because I want to let you know what I want for Christmas. All my friends have bikes but I’ve never had a bike for a big boy. I had a bike when I was a small boy but I never had a big boy’s bike.”

 Ms Twomey said it has been difficult to see children arriving at the premises with their handwritten letters to Santa.

Volunteers at the soup kitchen in Cork city persevere to make Christmas more bearable for poverty-stricken families ever year.

Caitríona described how it broke her heart to have a little boy call to the soup kitchen charity in 2022 looking for Pokémon trading cards.

She explained that, due to his family's financial difficulties, the child had been facing a bleak festive period when he visited the facility. He had shown up at the charity premises just two days before Christmas at a time when many stores were shut. However, the charity volunteer managed to source the cards by way of a Christmas miracle.

The organisation is hoping to spread the same kind of happiness for families in dire circumstances this year.

Speaking of her pain at seeing this year’s Santa letters Caitríona said:

“It’s more than difficult…. it’s horrible. When you have a grandmother or mother handing these to you it cuts you to the core. We get requests for everything including Playstations. Realistically we can’t get the big toys. If you ask the child what they want they are going to say something big. We know that will be difficult.

” Another of this year’s letters came from a little boy who arrived in Cork Penny Dinners with his parents.

“Dear Santa,” the letter read. “I will leave you a cookie for Christmas and a carrot for Rudolph.” Caitríona explained: “He was looking for a tablet so I told him and his parents that I would bring his letter to Santa.” Meanwhile, the Christmas rush at Cork Penny Dinners is showing no signs of wavering.

“I expect there will be a few more Santa letters delivered to us before Christmas. The last thing we want to do is let anybody down.” Other toys listed in Christmas letters include Paw Patrol merchandise and dolls’ prams.

“We get donations of small presents such as books from the public but not a lot of dolls in prams.” Ms Twomey said that word has got around about her special connection to Santa Claus.

“Every time Santa is walking through Cork he always says “Hi Caitríona!” which even leaves my grandchildren in a state of absolute shock.” To make a contribution to Cork Penny Dinners visit www.corkpennydinners.ie.