WALKER, Mich. (WOOD) — A year after a fire at the former DeltaPlex site caused damage to the Santa Claus Girls’ toy supply, the nonprofit is getting ready to deliver Christmas cheer to families in need across Kent County.

The fire in 2023, just weeks before Christmas, meant the nonprofit had to change its plans and give out gift cards instead.

This year, presents will be delivered directly to families once again.

“When they see a package wrapped with their name on it and they can tear it open, I mean, that’s the excitement of Christmas something just for them, special,” said Tina Hudson, the president of the Santa Claus Girls. “We were two weeks away from delivering and our insurance company came through for us very quickly, within 24 hours, and they were able to pay us out for our inventory.”

The community also made donations and reached out to provide support.

“Our phones were ringing off the hook. We were getting emails from everywhere and got donations from around the world,” said Rick Bartling, a project manager with the YMCA Service Club that oversees delivery.

Registration will close on Saturday. Families qualify if they have children 12 and under, live in Kent County and have a Department of Health and Human Services number or Medicaid number showing they meet the income requirement.

“We were able to utilize some of our gifts from last year this year,” Bartling said.

The process of making sure the right gifts get to the right location requires a lot of planning and volunteers, who make the deliveries.

“They come here. Within about 40 minutes, they get in a queue, they receive their packages to be delivered on their route and the route is 13 to 14 stops and the routes have been laid out by computer,” Bartling said.

The nonprofit has faced several challenges over the past few years. First, it had to find a new location, which led the Santa Claus Girls to the former DeltaPlex site. Then, COVID-19 prevented gifts from being delivered altogether. The year after that, the nonprofit had to introduce a parking lot pickup process.

Last year, the process was supposed to return to normal — but because of the fire, drivers ended up delivering gift cards.

“We’re really, for the first time in a good five years, actually taking gifts with our drivers to home for the kids to see,” Bartling said.

If you want to donate or apply to receive gifts, you can visit the Santa Claus Girls’ website.