''All I Want for Christmas Is'': Homeless Boys and Girls Tell Santa What They Want for Christmas.

News Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 23, 1999

Thousands of homeless boys and girls were asked by Union Rescue Mission's Santa Claus, Chaplain Dale Fitch, what they wanted for Christmas.

Their responses -- some poignant, most heartbreaking -- and other real-life stories about what Christmas is really like for homeless children will be available to the public via an interview: "Santa" and KIEV's Larry Marino on Union Rescue Mission's Web site (www.urm.com) the day before Christmas Eve.

Web site visitors may view the video clip and transcription of the interview by clicking on day 12 of the Twelve Days of Christmas site, which was recently selected by MSNBC as a "Website Pick."

"When I asked one little girl what she wanted for Christmas, her first response was `food,'" recalled Santa Fitch. "My heart nearly stopped. She then tried to cover it up by saying what she really wanted was a bicycle. But I knew by the look on her face that she was serious. She wanted food for Christmas."

In fact, Union Rescue Mission staff found that, when asked, most of the boys and girls who sat on Santa's lap either did not know what to ask for, or didn't expect to get anything at all for Christmas. For most of these homeless children, and for the parents who long to provide the same holiday joy and cheer that other parents with more resources do, the basic necessities of life are what they want most.

For these families, Christmas is less about what they want and more about what they need. "The majority of these kids just want a place to lay their heads down at night," said Fitch.