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Abington Lions on Santa’s elf duty

Joan Mead-Matsui Abington Journal Correspondent

For Mark Kusma, transporting Santa to the homes of more than 450 Abington area children is a priority. While Santa Claus traditionally arrives on Christmas Eve by sled and inches his way down the chimney, when he’s working with the Lions Club Annual Santa Claus Visit, he is escorted by one of the organization’s volunteers and uses the front door, according to Kusma who has served as coordinator of the Annual Santa Claus Visit since 2004. The Abington Lions Club has been sponsoring the Santa Claus visit for nearly 50 years.

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Santa and Abington Lion Mark Kusma prepare for the annual local holiday visits.

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On many occasions he has braved the cold winter nights to assure Santa reaches his destination, escorting the jolly old fellow to homes in Clarks Summit, Clarks Green, Chinchilla, Waverly, Glenburn, Dalton, and Newton areas. This year Santa will visit homes on Dec. 8, 9, 10 between 5:30 and 9 p.m.

“Santa gets great pleasure from visiting the children at home and watching their excitement as he walks up the sidewalk. He gets to spend a few minutes talking to them about being good, doing their homework, etc. The parents take pictures and it becomes a special memory for the children,” said Kusma, who anticipates Santa will visit approximately 500 children this year.

In keeping with tradition, Santa will not arrive at any door empty handed. Children will receive a large coloring book “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and a pack of Crayola crayons. “There is no cost to families for this visit, however, donations are always welcome to offset the costs,” said Kusma.

The Abington Lions will celebrate 60 years of service next month. Locally, they support the Abington Little League and provide scholarships to graduating seniors that meet certain criteria. They also provide eyeglasses and/or hearing aids if a family cannot afford them.

To prepare for Santa’s visit, parents are asked to be home on their scheduled night, have an outside light on, make sure their address is visible, and have their camera ready. “We don’t really have any rules and will visit children through the 2nd grade,” he noted.

The deadline to register for a visit from Santa Claus is Dec. 3. For more information, contact Mark Kusma at 570.587.5062 or visit www.abingtonlions.org.