Leaving his sleigh at the North Pole, Santa Claus made an early stop to Newton on Saturday.
Escorted by three state police troopers, Santa arrived in style, riding in a stretch limousine and accompanied by his elves, a group of first-year pediatric oncology fellows from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
"The doctor that normally does this (plays Santa) was injured recently," said Bob Julio, the husband of a nurse at the Jimmy Fund Clinic in Boston. "I always said if anything happened, I'm in to help."
The visit was to benefit children receiving care at the Jimmy Fund Clinic at the Dana-Farber. This year marked the 16th annual Christmas celebration for the clinic with more than 600 people in attendance.
"The purpose of today is to give Jimmy Fund Clinic patients a holiday outside of the hospital," said Elizabeth Chernack, spokeswoman for the Jimmy Fund. "The patients have become friends with each other because they see each other every day. It's a fun way to celebrate their lives with out doctors and hospitals."
Inside a ballroom at the Newton Marriott Hotel, families stood in line before a stage overflowing with gifts. Parents received bags of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts and children were treated to toys handed out by Santa's elves.
One of the elves, Brian Crompton, 29, of Brookline said acting the part of an elf, which included wearing curly green slippers and striped stockings, is a tradition all first-year doctors go through.
"We're all doctors at the Dana-Farber Institute. We're pediatricians training in oncology. We're in our first year so this is a tradition, but we're all excited to do it," Crompton said. "Some of us we're working late last night and they are still here, so we didn't have a lot of time to prepare."
The event was made possible through the Pan-Mass. Challenge bicycle fundraiser. This year a team called "Reindeers on a Ride" raised $150,000 for the event.
Tom Grenham, a state trooper living in Marshfield, took part in the fundraiser, cycling 192 miles this year.
"It was a lot of hard work," he said, adding he trained four to five days a week, bicycling 20 to 30 miles a day. "We ran a fundraiser at Marina Bay. That night we raised $40,000 alone."
Grenham entered the race for his 4-year-old daughter Shannon, who was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2006.
"There's no worse news than finding out your child has cancer," he said. "You're worrying everyday ... then you go to this amazing place called the Jimmy Fund (Clinic) ... I was trying to give something back.'
Shannon Grenham is currently undergoing a 2-year cycle of chemotherapy treatments, according to her father. She spoke about the fun she has at the clinic.
"I do some arts and crafts and painting and coloring there," Shannon said. When Shannon was initially treated at the Boston Children's Hospital, she met a good friend battling cancer, 5-year-old Gabby Bazikas.
Through a long-standing collaboration, the Jimmy Fund Clinic patients receive inpatient care when needed at the nearby Children's Hospital Boston.
"We were next door to each other and we always visited each other," she said.
Gabby's mother Renata Bazikas described her son's relationship with Shannon as a "a big love story."
"One night Shannon was admitted with a fever. She requested to be in the same room as Gabby," she said. "They just played together and helped each other take medicines."
Lisa Scherber, the patient activity coordinator at the clinic, said the celebration helps families cope with cancer treatment during the holiday season.
"My major responsibility is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for these kids," Scherber said. "This helps them be distracted from the chemotherapy and provides fun and brings back their childhood."
The Jimmy Fund started in 1948 when the Variety Club of New England (now the Variety Children's Charity of New England) and the Boston Braves baseball team joined forces to help a 12-year-old cancer patient named "Jimmy."
According to its Web site, to date Dana-Farber researchers have made strides against virtually every type of cancer that strikes children, from solid tumors that involve individual organs to those that affect blood or lymph.
For more information visit www.jimmyfund.org.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
