By ANA RISANO
Staff Writer
For nearly three decades, Santa’s right-hand man, Earl Wright, and his team of elves have collected bikes to give away to children on Christmas Day in Moore County. It has been a hit each year, with hundreds of shiny bicycles lined up in the Aberdeen Walmart parking lot each year, ready for giddy children to pick out the perfect ride.
Wright has previously said that the look on the kids’ faces is priceless.
“It’s fantastic. (I keep) doing it for the kids,” Wright said. “It’s a feeling you can’t find every day.”
In addition to the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service and Man of the Year from Moore County Community Foundation, Wright has received the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills Builder’s Cup Award for his work.
The nonprofit Project Santa of the Sandhills has worked like a well-oiled bike chain with help from Wright’s top helpers, partner Sharon Thompson and avid cycler Phil Benton. Benton has helped with the event’s logistics for about 15 years.
On top of the regular giveaway, Benton said Project Santa plans to take more than 200 bikes to children impacted by Hurricane Helene in the North Carolina mountains.
“We figured a lot of kids would have some pretty sad Christmases. They probably lost their bikes, everything, in the floods,” Benton said. “We hope to do something to make their lives a little bit better.”
Thompson added, “Parents can’t worry about toys right now when they have nothing.”
Benton said the plan is to take the bikes on Dec. 28, the Saturday after Christmas, for a 2 p.m. giveaway. He said the location has not been determined yet, but they will need volunteers.
In total, Benton said Project Santa hopes to collect over 1,500 bikes this year to serve the local community and neighbors in the mountains. That’s about 500 bikes more than what was available last year. As of Nov. 1, he said they have collected about 650 bikes.
Benton anticipates buying about 700 new bikes, but that depends on donations. He said the average bike costs $80. For donated bikes, he said each needs to be in good, operable condition — nothing rusting.
Donated bikes are stored in a warehouse space in Aberdeen until the event. Thompson and Benton shared their thanks to John O’Malley, who has let them use that space for over a decade.
“We are grateful to John O’Malley for donating warehouse space for the last 15 years — free warehouse space,” Benton said.
The event will take place on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, at the Walmart Supercenter parking lot in Aberdeen, 250 Turner St. It runs from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Volunteers will help children pick out their bikes while the parents wait nearby.
For the event, all children must be accompanied by an adult — over 18 years old — and bikes are limited to one per child and four per family.
Bike and monetary donations can be dropped off at Rainbow Cycles in downtown Southern Pines. Money donations can be made at Woodforest National Bank, located inside the Walmart Supercenter in Aberdeen. Checks should be made payable to Project Santa of the Sandhills.
For more information on the nonprofit, ways to donate or ways to volunteer, visit https://projectsantaofthesandhills.org/.
Contact Ana Risano at (910) 585-6396 or ana@thepilot.com.
