santa claus

Operation Santa brings holiday cheer to thousands of children with special needs

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Operation Santa brings holiday cheer to children with special needs

Over 3,000 children with special needs celebrated the holidays with music, food, costumes and a special visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus! Kemberly Richardson has the story.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Thousands of New York City public school students got the honor of greeting Santa when he touched down at JFK Airport Wednesday morning.

Operation Santa was a go this year thanks to Port Authority volunteers and the nonprofit group Community Mayors.

The nonprofit works with about 2,000 volunteers to pull the event together to celebrate the NYC students with special needs.

Over 3,000 children celebrated the holidays with music, food, trivia, costumes, and a special visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Wednesday's celebration was the first time they met in person since 2019.

"This is a place where we make little, tiny miracles," said Community Mayors CEO Shelley Della Rocca.

The event dates back to the early 1950s when it was a small parade on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn that ended at Rocca's dad's restaurant.

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