A family poses with Santa during the event. (Courtesy Dracut Fire Department)

DRACUT — Santa Claus paid a visit to Dracut Fire Headquarters on Sunday morning to spend time with Dracut children and to lend his assistance to an effort to collect toys for local families in need this holiday season.

The Jolly Old Elf got a ride to and from the station on the Dracut Fire Department’s 1948 Diamond T Fire Engine, sat for photos, and listened to children’s Christmas wish lists. Dracut firefighters provided cookies and snacks. Families were able to check out fire apparatus inside the station during the visit.

Retired Dracut Fire Alarm Operator and Lowell Police Dispatcher Steve Paris volunteered to take photos of families with Santa, with the photos later being made available via Facebook.

Families who attended were asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Local Children, a local organization that provides toys for families in need during the holiday season.

“This has been our best year yet for donations. We filled two U-Haul trucks with toys plus 110 bicycles for children of all ages,” said Lt. Joel Howard. “We couldn’t do it without our partners at the Dracut Police Department, Centerville Sportsman’s Club, and Dracut Public Schools. I also want to offer a special thank you this year to Eleanore Moore and the crew at Greater Lowell Buick/GMC. They held a bicycle donation drive and dropped off over 100 new bikes for children of all ages.”

About Toys for Local Children:

Toys for Local Children is a Somerville-based non-profit organization that distributes toys to children in Middlesex and Essex counties. Some of the toys will be retained by Dracut firefighters for distribution to children in Dracut who are in need, and children whose families have experienced losses due to fires.

To learn more about Toys for Local Children, click here.