1 Photo
Austin Handler has no shortage of holiday spirit, to put it lightly. He looks forward to Christmas all year long. He loves the decorating, the smell of the tree and hanging the ornaments his family has collected over the years.He yearns to write holiday cards while listening to carols, and stay up all night on Christmas Eve arranging the presents, stuffing the stockings, and setting up the milk, cookies and carrots for Santa Claus and his reindeer—and then taking a bite or two to achieve the desired effect.
He wants to make Christmas magical for his children, 9-year-old Wesley and 12-year-old Colin, without losing touch with the true spirit of the holiday: thinking of others, in ways big and small.
For that, Austin has been dubbed “Santa Claustin,” which doubles as the name of a community service initiative he kickstarted this winter from his home in Water Mill.
“The idea is not that we’re saving the world, it’s just about helping people in need of a good deed,” explained Mr. Handler, one half of the interior design firm Mabley Handler, which he runs with his wife, Jennifer Mabley. “It started with our family, but now there’s a lot of people that are engaged by the concept of just doing a good deed to help someone in the community.”
Although Wesley and Colin, who attend The Ross School, have contributed to fundraisers and other endeavors for those in need—from Syrian refugees to earthquake and tsunami victims in Nepal and Japan, respectively—these giant tragedies still seemed abstract, considering the sheer distance from the East End. Mr. Handler said he wanted to think of a hands-on way to get his sons involved on a local level, without throwing money at the cause.
“As a family, I wanted to do something that my kids could do to help someone locally—something simple, a good deed—and then see the effect that they could have on somebody,” he said. “If you live in New York City, you are confronted by homelessness almost every day when you walk down the street. Living out here, you don’t have a sense of that. I think it’s hard for the kids to wrap their head around what it means to be that much in need. I think it’s a little eye-opening for them, and it’s hard for them to grasp.
“This is part of the learning process of this mission and doing philanthropic work,” he continued. “It’ll certainly help them appreciate how fortunate they are and also give them an opportunity to help. That’s the way all people should live their lives.”
Ironically, since Santa Claustin launched earlier this month, more people have reached out to help than there have been nominated good deeds to distribute, Mr. Handler said. “There’s a lot of very fortunate people in our community, and if there’s been any challenge, it’s finding the people that do need something,” he said.
Their first project involved a disabled 55-year-old man who was homebound without satellite or cable television, and his DVD collection of three. “He watches those three movies over and over again throughout the year,” Mr. Handler said. “My friend asked on Facebook if anyone had any DVDs lying around, if they could mail them to the man home sick on disability. Lots of people have DVDs sitting around collecting dust. We put together 75 movies to send out, but we also put it out to other people.”
A dozen people donated an additional 75 DVDs, ultimately adding up to 150 DVDs to complete the deed.
“We’d love to do more projects like that. It’s so simple and a nice impact on these people’s lives,” Mr. Handler said. “It’s not saving lives. It just lets people know that there are other people out there that are thinking about them and are willing to do things to help make their lives a little happier, especially during the holidays.”
Another deed request sent through the Facebook page involves a woman who put herself through college and works hard every day, according to Mr. Handler. She is “very into music, especially Broadway musicals,” he said, and the Santa Claustin team is currently compiling Broadway show tunes and looking into tickets for her to see a Broadway show. Not only that, the Santa Claustin team is also seeking local children, ages 6 to 9, who would like a BMX-style bicycle for Christmas, courtesy of an East End estate manager who has six practically new bikes to donate.
“There’s no way you can work on a project like this and not be touched by it, and not realize how fortunate you are and that there are people in the world and in our community that need help,” Mr. Handler said. “It doesn’t take a huge amount of effort to reach out and help somebody.”
Leading up to Christmas, the team strives to complete one deed a day, Mr. Handler said.
“Small, kind gestures may not get a lot of attention, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t make a difference in someone’s life,” Mr. Handler said. “And that’s what Project Santa Claustin is about: Doing a small, simple, unexpected good deed to help brighten someone’s day and bring some holiday cheer their way at Christmastime.”
For more information about Santa Claustin, or to nominate a good deed, email Austin Handler at santaclaustin@gmail.com, or visit facebook.com/santaclaustin.
on Dec 22, 2015