Our Story
Hi I'm Rachel
My name is Rachel Cunningham, I am a deputy manager at Focus Ireland and I am proud to say I have worked with them for 10 years now.
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I have worked in a lot of different services, including the Family team where my Santa Drive began in 2016.​​​
Noticing a need
My first Christmas with the Family Team we were supporting families living temporarily in hotels. My colleague told me about a family she had worked with where the parents were really struggling, and Santa couldn't find them. As a result, their little boy was devastated because he thought the reason Santa didn't come was because he was bold.
This story absolutely broke my heart and I realised that we are all told that Santa only comes if you are well-behaved.
After I saw this little boy blaming himself, I had to do something to help Santa find these children.
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The Santa drive was born
The following year, we started working with the families in hotels and emergency accommodation to put together lists of gifts based on what the individual children actually wanted. This way we could make sure Santa's list was personal to every child and they could experience that magical feeling on Christmas morning.
Things have modified throughout the years which have helped us reach even more children. We have also reached out to and supported families in Direct Provision Centres. Last year we helped Santa reach over 460 children, and we really hope to do the same again this year.
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This drive has gone from strength to strength each year and we are so proud of how far we've come. The magic of Santa has been able to reach so many hotel rooms on Christmas morning because of the generosity of so many.
Thank you, Rach x
