For the eighth year, The University of Texas at Austin will sponsor Orange Santa, a program designed to help make the season brighter for university families with special needs during the holidays.

Orange Santa is a campus-wide donation program providing toys and gifts for children of these families. Last year, 935 of the university's children enjoyed a happier holiday through the contributions and volunteer efforts of the campus community.

Based on the Salvation Army model, Orange Santa stocks a holiday store with toys and gifts for infants through teen-agers, and eligible families “shop” for those items that best suit their children. The store is supplied through the donation drive coordinated by units on the main campus, at Pickle Research Center and at The University of Texas System offices.

Donations also will be received this year at the women's basketball game vs. Southwest Texas on Dec. 4 and the men's game vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Dec. 5. A donation of a toy each night will provide the donor with a free admission ticket to the Erwin Center.

At the annual holiday caroling program, “Songs of the Season,” at noon, Dec. 7, on the West Mall, participants are invited to help “fill the Tower with toys.” Gifts can be placed in designated structure in the Main Building. Employees in need of assistance this holiday season should contact Luther Johnson at Human Resource Services at 475-8023. Application also may be made online at the Orange Santa Web site. New toys in their original packaging, gift certificates and gifts, as well as store decorations and wrapping supplies will be collected at university guard gates and through departmental offices from Nov. 26-Dec. 7.

Samples of suitable toys for various age levels is available on the Web site. Volunteer opportunities include assisting at the donation drive, preparing the store and helping families in the holiday store (including bilingual interpreters) from Dec. 5-11. For more information, visit the Orange Santa volunteer registration page on the Web.

Orange Santa is coordinated with the Austin Christmas Bureau, a registration site that ensures applications are not duplicated among central Texas holiday donation programs such as Blue Santa, Brown Santa and the Salvation Army. Leftover gifts are donated to the Austin Christmas Bureau for distribution to needy families that have not been served by other agencies.

Orange Santa enjoys the support of many individuals and offices across the campus community. For many years, the University Co-op has been a major partner by providing a significant cash donation that is used to purchase new toys at wholesale prices.

This year's contribution of $2,000 will provide a retail value of $4,000 in new toys for the university's children. For more information about Orange Santa, call the Office of Relationship Management and University Events at 471-7753.