MOOSEHEART, Dec. 18 -- As St. Charles East’s woodworking class students held their annual toy auction on Dec. 15 to raise funds with which to buy presents for Mooseheart’s children, the mother of one of those students walked up to Mooseheart Superintendent of Education Gary Urwiler.

That mom told Urwiler that the sole reason her son had stayed in the woodworking program for four years was so he could make beautiful wooden creations, see them auctioned off and then to see the faces on Mooseheart’s children when the gifts are delivered.

That spirit of wanting to give is what the “Saints Helping Santa” program is all about. The program is in its seventh year and the sixth in which the toy auction has gone to help Mooseheart. This year, the toy auction raised $9,000. All that money was spent buying presents and then those gifts were handed out on Friday, Dec. 18.

In buying the toys, bidders got more than just pieces of wood put together. In many cases, they were bidding on the entire story behind the project. For example, junior Josh Kreiner made a rocking chair that had an afghan draped over its back at the auction. But this wasn’t just a chair and an afghan.

“My mom has always wanted a rocking chair,” Kreiner said. “My mom’s mom always had one and my grandma sits in it and knits. So I found plans for it online and started working with it.”

The project had personal significance because Kreiner’s mother, Zoeie, is battling cancer.

“She started knitting and I asked if she could knit an afghan that could go on the back of my chair,” Kreiner said. “Her cancer got worse and she was more and more wiped out each day. So some ladies from Living Well (a cancer-resources center in Geneva) started helping her out. They volunteered their time in their knitting circle to help out my mom.”

When the rocking chair came up for bid, St. Charles East woodworking teacher Jim McCarthy asked Josh Kreiner to share his story. And with that, the bidding began - and the numbers astounded everyone. When the gavel fell, the chair raised $700.

“I was amazed,” Kreiner said. “I didn’t think it would go for that much. I thought maybe $250. I was stunned that it went for $700.”

What happened next was truly astounding. The chair was bought by St. Charles East business teacher Mike Karson -- who then gave the chair and afghan back to Kreiner to give to his mother.

“When I came home from school the day after the auction, she was sitting in that chair,” Kreiner said. “When (Karson) gave that back, it just made her day. It really touched my heart.”

That spirit of giving love was evident on Friday when Santa, played as always by St. Charles East principal Dr. Robert Miller, came to deliver the holiday presents to Mooseheart’s elementary schoolchildren.

“It’s a really cool thing,” Kreiner said. “Up until last year, I’d never heard anything about it before. I couple of my friends were doing it and they said I should do woods because it was a really cool thing. I did and last year just blew me away.”

In the group of students was a St. Charles East freshman who has more familiarity than most in the history of Mooseheart. Davis Allen is the great-grandson of Rodney Brandon, who was the Superintendent at Mooseheart when it opened in 1913. Joining Allen at Mooseheart for the gift giving were his mother, Maureen Allen and his uncle, Mark B. Allen -- whose mother, Nancy Brandon Allen, was born on the Mooseheart campus as Rodney Brandon's daughter in 1918.

“I knew they did a project for Mooseheart, but I didn’t know much about it,” Davis Allen said. “I’ve heard about it and been here a few times. It was a good feeling make the project because we got to raise money so they could have presents for Christmas. It’s a good feeling.”

The children came to sit with Santa with their Mooseheart classes, starting with fifth grade and working down to the youngest children, some not yet in school.

“The entrance by the infants was very moving,” Davis Allen said. “I’m glad this service exists. I was happy to see the ethnic mix of the Mooseheart children. You could tell in their eyes that they are well cared-for. You can tell there’s love here, and that’s important.”

Santa emptied his pack, hopped into his sleigh (well, his school bus) and headed home. But he’ll be back again next year with his woodworking elves in tow again, to spread Christmas cheer at Mooseheart.