Santa Claus, with assistance from Delaware County Council, paid a visit to the veterans and residents living at Fair Acres, Delaware County’s skilled care facility, during a holiday party last week.

As part of its annual Holiday Cheer for the Troops and Veterans campaign, council distributed gift bags to the 100 veterans of all service branches who now call Fair Acres home.

Chairman Mario J. Civera, a U.S. Air Force veteran, joined Santa in Building 7 on the Fair Acres campus in Middletown. Each veteran received a gift bag with a holiday greeting and a copy of the 2016-2017 Veteran’s Book published by the Delaware County News Network.

For the past nine years, Delaware County Council and the Department of Public Relations, which oversees the Armed Services Tribute Board, have collected and mailed hundreds of holiday cards and gifts as part of the Armed Services Tribute initiative.

“During the holidays, it’s important to remember the brave men and women of the armed services who are fighting for our freedom at home and overseas,” Civera said. “We also want to remember our veterans, especially those who are now in the skilled care of our staff at Fair Acres. They sacrificed for us, and now we need to make sure they are remembered.”

This year, council partnered with AMVETS Post 118 in Morton to mail care packages to Delaware County men and women in the Armed Services who are serving on base or here in the United States. Past AMVETS Post 118 commander Harry Mirra and his fellow veterans picked up two deliveries of gift items donated by county employees to be mailed to troops through the AMVETS Care Package initiative.

“This year we decided to extend our collection to send greetings to the nearly 100 veterans living at Fair Acres, our skilled care facility in Middletown,” Civera said. “Our holiday campaign now has a dual purpose to reach active duty troops and our brave veterans.”

Civera reminded people to stop by the Armed Services Tribute Board on view in the lobby of the Delaware County Government Center in Media. Any Delaware County resident who has a family member currently serving in the military can contact Kate Morrone in Public Relations to have their family member’s photo posted on the Armed Services Tribute Board.

She can be reached at 610-891-4931 or at MorroneK@co.delaware.pa.us.