Not just Santa bringing the goods

By the time you read this, Santa Claus will have come to hundreds of thousands of homes in the Chicago suburbs.

That's a whole lot more than Ron Thomas, who will have delivered presents to at least 200 Carpentersville apartments this year.

Sure, Santa has elves and a sleigh, but he can't beat Thomas' heart and dedication.

The 42-year-old Carpentersville man took it upon himself this year to personally deliver items from Toys for Tots to scores of families this holiday season.

Normally, eligible families must pick up their gifts, which in this case are distributed out at the Grace Community Ministries in Carpentersville.

"The weather was cold. We don't want parents to stand outside waiting," said Thomas, who suffered frostbite in his fingers and toes while on an Army mission in Germany in the early '90s.

He said a personal visit is better than shuffling families through a distribution line.

"Door-to-door is more of a relationship and more humane," Thomas said. "That way you get to interact with (parents)."

Thomas, who also works at the Illinois Department of Employment Security and as a child-care worker at the Larkin Center, said the children are very excited when he arrives, even though they can't open the presents immediately.

"We've got to show kids that there are people who care," he said. "It's a feeling you can't describe."

Toys for Tots isn't the only way Thomas gives back to the community. He's helped run a program where bicycles are refurbished and donated during the summer.

He also is studying at Elgin's Judson University to get a teaching certificate and hopes to teach middle school.

"Middle school is a time for kids to either lose themselves or find themselves," Thomas said. "I want to help them find themselves."