Silvia Goddard remembers the day it came to her. She was standing in Seattle Children’s Hospital, watching people deliver presents under a tree at Christmastime. She wasn’t sure who the people were or what was inside the presents, but it drew her in immediately. She had just been given a tour of the hospital by a doctor there who was offering her a job. “I’ve been taught opportunities come once in a lifetime and you don’t lose anything for checking it out so that’s what I did,” Silvia recalled. At the time, she was a young woman working at Ram in Seattle. The doctor was one of her regular customers. He had seen something more in Silvia.

 

“On one of those days, he sat down, it was a slow lunch, I was able to converse longer than usual, he looked at me and asked me if I planned on doing this for the rest of my life.”

 

Silvia was 21 years old, and the thought had not really occurred to her. Living in Tacoma, and commuting to Seattle, it was just what you did. She knew she loved interacting with people and had good customer service skills. “I don’t see you doing this for the rest of your life. You’ve got more,” the doctor told her and he handed her his business card. “What he had in mind is that he wanted me to work in the respiratory therapy department,” Silvia told us. “School would be paid by them. The offer was anybody’s dream.” She had seen the children that day. The sick ones. The ones who might not be making it out. And here it was Christmastime. It was very sad. Silvia wasn’t sure she had it in her to be there every day – but she knew she wanted to do something for those kids. The universe knew it, too,

 when it showed her people putting presents under the tree.

 

“I started inquiring about it,” Silvia said. The folks at Seattle Children’s directed her to the role of volunteer at Christmas, wrapping presents that had been brought in for the kids. Because that’s what had been under the tree. It was a toy drive for the children at the hospital. Soon, Silvia was collecting toys herself, through word of mouth, to bring to the drive at Seattle Children’s. While this was well and good, it still wasn’t quite where she was meant to be. A friend asked her, “Why are doing it for Seattle? Why don’t you do it for Tacoma? Your community needs you.”

 

Thus, Santa Silvia was born. “From there, I started doing Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, at the ER. I started doing it on my own.” Back home with no more commute, Silvia worked at El Gaucho Restaurant, where they kindly allowed her to promote her toy drive and added a discount at the restaurant for anyone who brought in a present for the kids. “It was a team effort,” Silvia humbly states – yet make no mistake, the work involved was and is all Silvia. No longer at El Gaucho, she started putting up boxes at her house, in the yard, advertising on Facebook, and putting out the word to everyone she knew. Bring presents. Help the kids. Most of the time, Silvia was allowed to go into the hospital herself. Staff there helped her by designating the age and gender of each child and if possible, gave her a room to sort presents – A LOT of presents.

 

“Then coronavirus hit. I was still collecting toys, but I couldn’t go inside.” Silvia related. Did that stop her? Of course not. When you have a mission, that mission doesn’t stop just because of a new challenge. You work around it. You work through it. Santa, after all, does not stop delivering toys just because of bad weather. Now married, Silvia and her husband Scotty – who in good humor has been voluntold to help out (he is more than happy to play Mr. to her Mrs. Claus) – dropped off the toys at the doors of Mary Bridge instead.

 

“This will be the first year in three years that I tentatively can come back in person,” Silvia said. “We started a company and got the company involved.” She and Scotty will drive up in their company truck – G3 Junk Removal – with loads of toys for the kids. She didn’t used to wear a particular costume – usually a shirt that said “Santa Silvia” – yet now that she is a team, Silvia and Scotty dress up as Mr. and Mrs. Claus. “I’m Santa Silvia, I’m helping Santa Claus,” was what she told the kids when she used to go in person. Now, she can say she’s Mrs. Claus herself.

 

Silvia is fulfilling a dream, an idea, a passion that started 24 years ago when a kind doctor took her on a tour of Seattle Children’s and her heart was touched by the children, and by the donations under the Christmas tree.

 

“Those kids are sad, they’re crying. The last thing they want to do on Christmas day is be in the hospital. To see that Santa is still thinking of them gives them a little smile. It’s a great feeling,” Silvia shared. “Believe me, walking into that hospital changes your life. It has taught me to appreciate the many gifts that I have been given in life and to not take anything for granted!”