AUGUSTA, GA ()- In the bustling North Pole, Santa Claus and his elves are tirelessly preparing for their annual Christmas Eve journey. With a mountain of tasks still to be completed, Santa enlists the help of many around the globe to ensure everything is ready for the magical night.

While he’s busy checking his famous list twice, Santa also relies on another important group. This roster includes men and women who don the iconic costumes of Santa and Mrs. Claus during the holiday season. Their mission is to meet with children and relay back whether they’ve been naughty or nice.

In the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA), these festive volunteers have found a community through a dedicated social media group.

CSRA Santas, a Facebook group, serves multiple purposes. It’s a hub for local Santa’s Helpers to exchange job opportunities and a resource for those in search of a Santa to attend their holiday events.

“I have a Facebook account, so I decided to create a page and invite other Santas to join,” shared Denzil Beeson, known as Santa Georgia, who founded the group. “Our first meeting attracted four Santas.”

That was 20 years ago. The group has grown from those 4 Santas to more than 100 to choose from. It has also grown into a community of people that enjoy what they do and each other.

“I’ve got several of them that go fishing with me. We go, we do a lot of different things together. I mean, it’s close group,” Beeson said.

“What’s your favorite part about it?” asked reporter, Kim Vickers.
“It’s just the look on the kids’ face and you know they believe,” Beeson explained.

NewsChannel 6 got the chance to sit down with another Santa and his Mrs. Claus and talk to them about why they love being Santa’s Helpers.

“I’ve been doing it…this is my 17th year. And my father did it for our children and I just picked it up after they grew up. Then Mrs. Claus decided that she wanted to come with me. And we just enjoy seeing the children and their smiling faces,” explained Jimmy Bennett.

His wife of more than 40 years, Carol Bennett, Mrs. Claus said she enjoys watching her husband interact with children.

“He can really get down on their level and he can draw even the most scared child into him, so that they are not afraid anymore. He does use his walking stick that he has and he uses that to help the children feel more comfortable.”

The Santas told NewsChannel 6 that talking to kids can be heartbreaking…

“I’ve had several children that were… you knew they were in the last stages of their life. I’ve had several kids like that that I’ve known that they weren’t going to be around the next Christmas,” Beeson said.

…but it can also be entertaining.

“I asked the little girl, ‘What what do you want for Christmas?’ And she looked at me and said, ‘Santa, I want a pink Bugatti.’ I said, ‘Oh, okay. I’ll see what we can do,’” laughed Jimmy Bennett.

These Santa’s Helpers are getting busy fast. To find a Santa for your event just head to the CSRA Santas facebook page.