‘A little happiness and a little goodwill’: Homeless Santa makes spirits bright

Homeless and walking the streets of Columbia since 2011, Willis Walker usually has had little to give on Christmas Day.

But Sunday, dressed in a red Santa Claus suit and surrounded by boxes of donated toys, Walker gave smiles and joy to families who came to the 31st annual Christmas Day feast at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Assembly Street. The event provides a meal for people who are homeless, low income or just alone on the holiday.

“All I can give is a little happiness and a little goodwill feeling,” said Walker, 61, who spent the morning handing out presents, shaking hands, hugging people and posing with attendees for pictures.

Robert Keeder, who has coordinated the event since it began, said he’s seen Walker around over the years and was approached by a friend of Walker’s about having him play Santa for this year’s feast. “I didn’t know he did Santa,” said Keeder. “He acts like he’s been doing it all his life.”

Keeder got the idea for the feast after seeing people roaming around Columbia one Christmas with no place to go. “They looked to me, as a young fella, like they were going nowhere,” he said. “I thought to myself, where is their destination on Christmas morning? We all know what we’re gonna do, but where are they going?”

The first event fed about 280 people, but Keeder said the church was expecting between 800 and 1,000 people Sunday. Volunteers cooked 85 turkeys and 25 hams in the days leading up to Christmas, and they prepared the side dishes Sunday. A table full of desserts rounded out the feast.

With their stomachs full, attendees made their way to another room lined with piles of blue laundry bags that each contained a hooded sweatshirt, a knit cap, socks, underwear and personal hygiene items.

Volunteers say the clothing items for all the bags each year cost between $15,000 and $20,000, which is raised by the church during the fall.

At the back of the room were rows of cardboard boxes filled with toys from Toys for Tots. Keeder handed out $25 gift cards from Target that were provided by an anonymous donor.

Loveley Brown jumped up and down and pointed when she entered and saw Walker handing toys to children. The 4-year-old stared wide-eyed and smiled at Walker when he knelt down to say hello to her. She fished two Barbie dolls from the boxes of toys. “It’s a big help to the family,” said Brown’s mother, Shaneeka Stroman, who works three jobs to support six children.

“There’s a lot of fun in seeing some of these people who enjoy seeing Santa Claus,” said Walker, who has played Santa for other occasions, including at orphanages and care homes for about five years. “I didn’t do it all in one stretch, because this is not a lot of fun,” he said, tugging on his gray beard.

Older children understand the concept of Santa Claus, but Walker said some very young children were scared at the sight of him because “they just don’t understand.” Walker says seeing the joy of children who recognize him as Santa Claus gives him joy.

“They’re poor. They come in here because they don’t have a lot,” he said. “The children don’t understand that they’re poor; they just know that they don’t have as much as some of the other children.”

As the boxes of toys emptied, the mountains of blue laundry sacks disappeared and the two-hour event wound down, Walker could only say he was open to returning as Santa Claus for next year’s feast. “I can’t ever predict the future,” he said. “Tomorrow’s promised to nobody.”

This story was originally published December 25, 2016 at 8:19 PM with the headline "‘A little happiness and a little goodwill’: Homeless Santa makes spirits bright."