VIDEO: Santa arrived early at UVM’s Children’s Hospital Thursday, hitching a ride with members of the Burlington Fire Department as part of Operation Fire Cuffs.
Burlington Assistant Fire Marshal Philip Edgerley helped come up with the idea for the annual event. “At the time, we had some co-workers — both of us that had children in the hospital at the time — and we just went with the idea and it kind of stuck,” Edgerley said.
Standing in for Santa’s elves, the Burlington Fire Department worked alongside businesses and dozens of police and fire agencies from across the state to collect new toys and gift cards for kids spending Christmas at the hospital.
The hospital’s Dr. Lewis First says the goal is to provide joy and a sense of normalcy during a time when it’s anything but normal. “Our goal is to have as few numbers of children as possible spend their time in the hospital, but right now, we’re pretty full, and we have a lot of children who are going to be here over the holidays,” he said.
