Mike Wolanin | The Republic Natasha Armstrong, left, and Michele Ziegler load a box of gifts into a vehicle during Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund gift delivery day at the Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund building in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023.
Children do more than believe in Christmas magic. Sometimes, they help make it happen.
Reese Noblitt, 7, is already a veteran of the annual distribution day for the Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund. But that shouldn’t be surprising. Her father, Ben Noblitt, has been a co-chairman of the charity since his daughter was just a year old.
Earlier this year, Reese told her father that while she loved seeing Santa, something was missing from the Delivery Day festivities.
“I just wanted a reindeer cause they’re really cute, really pretty and really fun to play with,” Reese said.
So the little girl asked her father to take care of the matter.
“She said ‘get hold of Santa and see if you can get him to bring a reindeer’,” Ben Noblitt recalled. “You’ve got his number.”
When that didn’t work out, Noblitt did the next best thing by calling Silly Safaris Inc., the leading provider of live animal conservation education in Indiana.
As kids arrived with adults Saturday morning to pick up gift boxes for delivery, they beheld a six-and-a-half year old domestic caribou named Elsa. The reindeer was accompanied by her human BFF called ‘Mistletoe Mel’, a member of Silly Safaris’ Semper Fly reindeer training group.
High demand
This year, the Cheer Fund distributed gift boxes carrying well over $100 worth of toys and other items to 1,129 children – well above the 960 delivered last year.
Mike Compton, who served as Columbus Fire Chief from 2016 until his retirement in mid-2019, says that is also 275 more than the average number of gift boxes delivered each year.
Organizers say the jump in recipients represent the first time that high school students have been eligible to receive gift boxes, as well as the negative impact of inflation on family budgets.
In order to serve that many children, preparations were made by 14 separate groups and almost 400 volunteers, Noblitt said. And that doesn’t include delivery drivers and their passengers who showed up Saturday morning.
This is the 93rd year for the Cheer Fund, which is considered Bartholomew County’s oldest charity that relies totally on local donations.
Spreading cheer
The first delivery driver in line was Kali Estep who was accompanied by her sister, Alexia Estep. They arrived at 4:56 a.m. and waited over three hours to earn this year’s bragging rights, the sisters said.
“We’ve been delivering for over ten years,” Kali Estep said. “A lot of kids nowadays don’t have a lot, and we just love spreading Christmas cheer.”
The son of former Cheer Fund chairman Dennis Brooks was another driver waiting in line. Jason Brooks said he hasn’t missed a delivery day since he was five years old. On Saturday, he was accompanied by his son, Jared Brooks.
Another family with three generations of Cheer Fund volunteers were also in line. Marty Green was accompanied by her daughter, Stacy Greathouse and four-year-old grandson, Benjamin Greathouse.
Stacy Greathouse said it was important that her young son accompany them on the deliveries.
“I want him to know that Jesus loves us all, and it is not all about getting, getting, getting,” she said. “It’s about giving, as Jesus gives to us. He invested in us, so we invest in others.”
Jobs well done
This is a transitional year for the Cheer Fund. Two retiring firefighters, Lt. Jay Smith and Lt. Jim Miller, were given the honor of riding with Santa Claus on a fire engine to deliver the first two gift boxes.
And after six years of service, two of the charity’s co-chairmen, Cory Hampton and Justin Sims, are stepping down.
Hampton recalls the move to the Cheer Fund’s first permanent home in 2020, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to stop accepting used toys and give only new ones.
“In the six years I’ve done this, I’ve really seen how this community cares about people,” Hampton said. “That really surprised me how people step up. We’re grateful to live in such a good community.”
The other outgoing co-chairman, Justin Sims, said he will miss the interaction with the community that the Cheer Fund has provided him.
“That’s always a big part of it for me,” Sims said. “I’ll probably be coming back on delivery day next year.”
Next year, firefighters Seth Burton and Ethan Yeley will take their place as co-chairmen along with Noblitt.
But Hampton, Sims and Noblitt have every reason to be proud of their accomplishments over the past six years, Columbus Fire Chief Andy Lay said.
“They do an outstanding job,” Lay said. “They have really taken this to the next level. It’s like fine wine. It just gets better with age.”
