A Heartwarming Initiative Bringing Joy and Hope to Children Across Continents
The Letters to Santa project is the flagship initiative of the Lakeshore Charitable Foundation, a charitable organization based in Etobicoke, Toronto. Founded by Rotarian Phillip Wayne Barker, the Foundation's mission is to advance education in developing countries by building and repairing public schools and providing books and supplies. The Letters to Santa project represents a unique intersection of Christmas joy, cross-cultural connection, and practical educational support that touches the lives of hundreds of children each year......
The project operates on a beautiful and simple premise: elementary school students in the Philippines at Baybay Central School in Ozamiz, Mindanao, write heartfelt letters to Santa Claus at the North Pole. These letters express Christmas wishes, ask for modest gifts such as shoes, balls, new dresses, or something to eat, and send warm holiday greetings to Santa and Mrs. Claus. In return, Canadian high school students, Rotarians, and volunteers write personalized, handwritten replies on behalf of Santa, offering words of encouragement and best wishes.
Each child receives not just a letter from Santa, but a complete Christmas package that includes a loot bag filled with 19 candies and a 3-kilogram bag of rice. As Rotarian Gillian Dugas noted, having worked in the Philippines for three years, "I also know first hand how much the 3 kg bag of rice means to each family". These gifts are hand-delivered by volunteers who travel to the Philippines, ensuring that every child experiences the magic of Christmas and receives tangible support for their families.
The project has engaged hundreds of Toronto-area high school students from multiple institutions, creating a remarkable collaborative effort. In 2025, participating schools included:
Interact Club Etobicoke Collegiate – A longstanding participant where approximately 50 students have written letters in past years
Richview Collegiate Institute – Held its first Letters from Santa event in December 2017 with 45 students writing about 300 letters
Martingrove Collegiate – Regular participant in the annual letter-writing campaigns
Upper Canada College (UCC) – Contributing students through the Helping Hands Club
Cross-Cultural Understanding – Students learn about the needs and circumstances of children in developing countries, gaining perspective on global inequality and the challenges faced by families in the Philippines.
Service Learning – The project transforms abstract concepts of charity into tangible, personal action. As Samantha Dugas observed, students were
"thinking back to what Christmas and the holidays meant to them at that age," creating bridges of empathy across continents.
Collaboration Skills – With approximately 700 letters to write in some years, students work together in a symbolic display of cooperation, demonstrating how collective effort can achieve significant impact.
Empathy Development – Writing personalized, encouraging messages to children they will never meet cultivates compassion and global citizenship among Canadian youth. As Anita Kyriakidou noted, it gives students "a valuable lesson in kindness, empathy, and global connection".
Holiday Spirit – The project reframes Christmas as a time for giving rather than receiving, helping Santa with his important work and sharing the joy of a Canadian-style Christmas celebration.
For the students at Baybay Central School and other recipient schools in Mindanao and Ozamiz, Philippines, the project delivers multiple forms of value:
Christmas Joy – Many of these children come from families with limited resources. Receiving a personalized letter from Santa Claus, complete with their name and encouraging words, creates magical Christmas memories that might otherwise be impossible.
Nutritional Support – The 3-kilogram bag of rice included with each package provides essential food security for families, addressing immediate nutritional needs during the holiday season. As someone who worked in the Philippines for years confirmed, this rice "means far more than others can imagine".
Educational Supplies – Beyond the Christmas gifts, the Lakeshore Charitable Foundation provides school supplies throughout the year, supporting the children's educational development.
Hope and Encouragement – The personalized messages in the Santa letters offer words of encouragement and affirmation, reminding children that people across the world care about them and believe in their potential.
The Letters to Santa project represents the best of charitable work: sustainable, collaborative, educational, and deeply human. By connecting Canadian youth with Filipino children through the universal language of Christmas magic, the initiative creates ripple effects of compassion, understanding, and practical support that extend far beyond the holiday season.
Through the dedication of volunteers, teachers, Rotarians, and students on both sides of the Pacific, hundreds of children experience the transformative power of knowing that somewhere in the world, someone cares enough to write them a letter, send them encouragement, and help ensure they have food on their table. As one teacher beautifully summarized, it gives students "a valuable lesson in kindness, empathy, and global connection"—lessons that shape not just a holiday season, but a lifetime of compassionate global citizenship.