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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 17, 2005 Jackson County public health nurse Robin Turgesen, left, and Tina Lines received a truckload of Christmas bicycles from a donor who insists on remaining anonymous. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell ‘The only thing you get is a feel-good’ By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Ol’ St. Nick may be publicity-shy, but he’s got nothing on the Rogue Valley’s version of secret Santa. For an anonymous local man with a truckload of shiny new bicycles, recognition is about the only thing that can dim his Christmas spirit. So when he dropped off 100 free bikes Friday at Jackson County’s public health offices, he shooed away photographers and made a reporter promise not to reveal his name. "I really enjoy the fact of going to my friends and saying, ‘Do you want to throw some money in a pot?’ " the man said by phone. "You get no tax write-off, no recognition. The only thing you get is a feel-good." Advertisement For a few years now, the man who said his age is "somewhere between a young elf and an old Santa" has pitched up to 15 pals for a private charity project. "I throw $500 in a pot and the hat gets passed around until we get enough for the number of bikes that we want," he said. There’s $8,000 in the pot this year, enough to provide 200 bicycles and helmets to kids in Talent, Phoenix, Medford and White City. The secret benefactors dropped off two dozen bicycles last week at the offices of the Jackson County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates. "What we did was just put word out to our volunteers that Santa had come forward and wanted to provide these," said Lene Garrett, program administrator. There was little trouble finding children who fit the group’s criteria. "We don’t release the bikes on a whim," the man said. "They’ve got to be a boy or girl ages 6 to 12 who would not normally be able to get a bike for Christmas." The bicycles, which arrive in parts, are assembled by volunteers during a huge annual party, the man said. Then they’re matched with helmets, topped with big red bows and tags that read "From Santa." "What it means is the parents get to be Santa," said Robin Turgesen, a Jackson County public health nurse. "The Christmas you get a bike is the Christmas you remember until you die." The effort started a few years back, when the secret Santa and his friends wanted an alternative to traditional holiday charities. "If I donate $8,000, by the time they have to pay administration and collection and blah-blah-blah, only $3,000 goes to the end user," he said. "This way, it all goes to the end user." Such vigilante philanthropy isn’t the only option, said Ed Roussell, development director for Community Works, a Medford social service agency. Donors to any reputable nonprofit organization can specify that an entire contribution go toward direct service, he noted. Still, he applauded the effort of the bicycle benefactors. "There’s a kind of charm to it," Roussell said. "I understand the urge for people to give personally." As the days draw near to Christmas, the secret Santas grow bolder, their leader says. "We always hold back about 15 or 20 bikes and then we throw a few in everybody’s pickup and drive through west Medford and White City," he explained. They stop at random homes where children appear to live — and leave new bicycles behind. "We leave the bike on the porch, beat on the door and run," he said. "We will doorbell-ditch 20 bikes and probably 50 bags of gifts. "So far, we haven’t been caught." That anonymity is a big part of the appeal for the man and his friends. "You don’t know if the guy next to you in the grocery store is one of the guys who throws money in the pot," the man said. "Never underestimate the guy next to you. He might be a great Samaritan." Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Advertisement s