Holiday Joy Year Round, For All

If you find your way to Cortney Lofton’s workshop in Northridge, California, you will be transported to a functional winter-wonderland; a bona fide Santa’s Workshop. This is the headquarters for Lofton’s organization, the Red Sled Santa Foundation (RSSF), which aims to give back a sense of joy each holiday season to underserved and low-income kids and families. 

Lofton’s appearance, complete with the fluffy white beard, would be enough to convince you that you’re in the North Pole. But Red Sled Santa Foundation’s community work is truly what makes them a year-round Christmas Miracle. 

RSSF began as a grassroots organization, partnering with churches, police departments, and other community groups to identify families in need and provide them with the gifts and experiences to have a joyful and memorable holiday season. Since their inception, though, their mission and scope have expanded. “It’s definitely kind of snowballed,” Lofton says, aware of the pun. 

Last year, RSSF began a gift grant program. Any family, anywhere in the country, can submit a request for gifts on the Red Sled Santa website. They immediately received an avalanche of gift requests; everywhere from Oklahoma, to New York, to Kentucky. As a small organization, the postage alone cost RSSF a significant amount of money. 

But Red Sled Santa is committed to gift-giving, not just monetary assistance: “There’s something special about receiving a box of wrapped gifts with their childrens’ names on it; when they open it up, that is magical,” Lofton beams. 

The beauty of RSSF lies in its holistic approach to community work. Not only does Red Sled Santa Foundation provide Santa visits, personalized gifts, holiday requests, and essentials to families in need, but they also bring in kids from underserved and at-risk communities to help build and package those gifts. “We can teach them a little vocational training… a little bit of empathy. They get to come in here, make some toys, and then turn around and give these toys back to their community,” Lofton says. 

RSSF also runs year-long programs: car show fundraisers, parades, and 5k running benefits to aid their communities further. 

Children in these communities are often lacking a true holiday experience as the hardships and necessities of life can overshadow celebrations. Santa Cortney, as he’s predominantly called, wants to give them back a sense of holiday joy. But mostly, give them a feeling of just being a child, even for a moment. 

“You’ll get a kick out of this,” Lofton jokes, “I’m Jewish. So that just makes this even better.” As the Red Sled Santa Foundation has proven, everyone deserves to experience the Christmas spirit.