Santa Claus visits Woolwich Township to collect smiles and food donations

The community of Woolwich Township were in for a treat Sunday afternoon as Santa Claus dropped by to say hello before Christmas.

The annual Santa Cruise event in Woolwich Township has been going on for 30 years to date. Families in the area saw Santa Claus on his lit-up sleigh driving through neighbourhoods, as he threw out candy canes for children waiting on the sidelines.

“This is an awesome event,” said Jackie Schofield, a member of the South Woolwich Optimist Club, who runs the event every year. “Families and the communities in South Woolwich… Breslau, Maryhill and Bloomingdale, really look forward to this.”

Graham Snyder plays the man in red. He said he finds the event overwhelming.

A photo of Santa Claus as he prepares for the Santa Cruise in Woolwich County, Dec. 22, 2024. (Sidra Jafri/CTV News)

“It’s just a jolly event,” Snyder told CTV News. “Every year I go home with at least one time through our route where my heart melts. It's never the same place, never the same people. Something always happens that melts my heart and it will happen again today. I'm sure it will.”

The event, which used to take four to five hours to visit all the communities, has grown to an almost seven hour affair as the communities of the county grow bigger.

About ten years ago, the cruise became a food drive to support The Food Bank of Waterloo.

South Woolwich Optimist Club collected 8011 meals from the 2024 Santa Cruise event, Dec. 23, 2024. (Courtesy of Graham Snyder)

Santa’s elves rode behind him in a pick-up truck, collecting any donations that people wanted to give.

“We raise thousands of pounds of food and donations for the food bank,” said Schofield. “I believe, it was over 5,000 pounds [of food] last year and it fed close to 7,000 people”

This year’s donation numbers were significantly higher. The Food Bank of Waterloo Region told CTV News in an email, this year’s Santa Cruise food drive brought in 9,613 pounds of food, which is equal to 8,011 meals. Over the years the club has brought in $3,462.71 and 18,178 pounds of food, amounting to 23,273 meals.

Santa Claus seen in the Santa Cruise event in Maryhill, Dec. 22 , 2024. (Sidra Jafri/CTV News)

Diane Strickler drove into Maryhill to watch the Santa Cruise. She’s been doing it every year since the event began decades ago.

“It's a way for us to bring the food and as for the children, they really do enjoy seeing Santa. That's the main thing,” said Strickler with a smile.

Matthew Rekman brought his daughter Laurel to the event, who got to ride in the firetruck that led the motorcade and Mr. Claus.

“It's fun with Santa Claus but also just learning about trying to support different charities or the food bank, that kind of thing as well is important,” said Rekman. “And [the kids] get some candy canes thrown at them on the side and it's fun for them that way.”

Schofield said though there’s no certain goal the club aims to reach when it comes to food donations for the food bank, they are grateful for the community support.