The family of late Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino spends the weeks leading up to Christmas playing Santa Claus — poring over wish lists, pushing carts full of toys at Walmart, and filling up bags for families who could use a little extra cheer.
On Christmas Eve, for the 30th year in a row, the Menino family gave these gifts to families in Dorchester’s Bowdoin-Geneva neighborhood to carry on the legacy of the former mayor, who cared deeply about the well-being of the community, according to his 25-year-old granddaughter Samantha Menino.
The family, including the late mayor’s wife, Angela, welcomed more than 370 families to the Catholic Charities’ Teen Center at St. Peter’s Parish to celebrate the holidays and receive necessities such as winter coats and boots as well as fun presents, Samantha Menino said.
“We are those crazy people that hold up the lines at Walmart because we take lists and have five or six carts at a time full of toys,” Samantha Menino said. “Then the toys are in our garage, and we as a family … with friends and volunteers, everyone shows up to our house and we put the toys in trash bags by family.”
In addition to the Mayor Thomas M. Menino Fund for Boston and Catholic Charities, many donors, such as Amazon and the Red Sox Foundation, give money and time to allow the distribution to run smoothly, according to Kelley Tuthill, president of Catholic Charities Boston. The Meninos send interest forms to families in the neighborhood so they can receive clothes that fit and toys they’re excited about.
“It’s really tailored to make sure the kids get what they want. They let ‘Secret Santa’ know, and that ‘Secret Santa’ is the Menino family, and they make these wishes come true,” Tuthill said in a phone interview. “It’s really important to the Menino family that the kids get what they most want. That’s the joy of it.”
Lots of bicycles were given out on Sunday, Tuthill said.
Some children needed a new bedspread, but the Meninos made sure that those receiving bedspreads also received a toy because they believe it’s important for kids to receive something fun in addition to necessities, Samantha Menino said.
“Today, there was a little girl who was taking a picture with Santa as the volunteers were getting her bag, and they brought up a bike and her whole face lit up,” Menino said. “She nearly leaped out of Santa’s arms and got on her bike to ride away. She was so excited and she was probably no older than four years old. That’s really why we do it.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu made an appearance at Sunday’s event to support the cause, bringing her sons Blaise and Cass, Tuthill said.
“The big, important part to this whole thing is that it’s all about keeping [Mayor Menino’s] commitment to the community alive,” the late mayor’s son, Thomas Menino Jr., said in a phone interview.
Bailey Allen can be reached at bailey.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @baileyaallen.
