Claus for a Cause

Jim Steinmetz’s first Santa costume seven years ago featured red suspenders, a plaid shirt and a false beard. He didn’t exactly want to be a Santa, but yielded to the request from his woodworker’s association.

Today, the beard is real, the costume is classic and the heart is full.

Steinmetz and his wife, Ann, both of Huntington Beach, have since formed Claus for a Cause, and spend each holiday season visiting thousands of children to raise funds for Breast Cancer Angels, a local organization that directly benefits women in cancer treatment and their families.

The Steinmetzes were surprised at their donation total this season, despite the financial downturn.

“This is the best year we’ve ever had,” Steinmetz said. “We raised just a little over $4,000 that first year. The next year, thanks to many repeat customers, it was a little over $7,000. The next was $13,000. Last year was $14,000. This year, we’re going to break $18,000.”

Their events each year can include city tree lighting ceremonies, corporate holiday parties, private parties and regular appearances at the St. Regis resort, among others. They ask that their payment checks be written directly to Breast Cancer Angels.

Ann Steinmetz said 100% of the Angel’s proceeds benefit women in treatment; last year alone, more than $325,000 was distributed, she said.

“It’s an awesome, grass-roots organization that’s growing every year,” she said. “It’s just amazing what people can do, and how generous they can be, even in these hard economic times.”

On Santa’s lap

Some of their most common requests from children this year have been American Girl dolls, Thomas the Tank Engine, MP3 players and Wii video game systems.

When kids ask for mobile phones, Santa advises them that he can’t pay for their phone bills, and tells them to wait a couple years.

Pets are another matter. After a bad experience involving a wished-for potbellied pig, Santa now tells the children to talk to their parents about it.

“I never tell the children that I will bring them what they want,” Steinmetz said. “I just say, ‘Santa will do his best.’ And do you know what? Not a single child has objected to that.”

One of the most common questions the couple is asked is where their reindeer are, Steinmetz said.

Their response? The reindeer are at the North Pole, because they only fly once a year. On Christmas Eve, Mrs. Claus goes out to the magic oat bin with a big bucket, and feeds the reindeer.

“By the time nighttime comes, they have been eating magic oats all day long,” Jim Steinmetz said.

Steinmetz has been stopped both in Huntington and Italy, in his street clothes, by children who either recognize him as “their” Santa Claus or as Babbo Natale, the Italian equivalent.

Steinmetz tells local kids that Santa lives in the North Pole, but loves to vacation in Huntington Beach.

The couple also dons their costumes to meet with children in the City of Hope and Orangewood Children’s Home, among other beneficiaries.

They were most humbled by their Los Angeles stops in the projects for Councilman Ed Reyes, Steinmetz said.

“These kids stood out in the pouring rain for a couple of hours to see Santa, because they couldn’t get out of their area to go to a mall,” he said. “But there was no pushing, no shoving and no complaints about having to wait — all for a candy cane, a gift, a digital picture and the chance to sit on Santa’s lap for two seconds.”

“It was a very, very humbling experience,” Ann Steinmetz said. “We’ve done it for the past three years. We come away from there and just count our blessings. It just really makes you stop and think.”

Donning the hat

Jim Steinmetz took on the new persona seven years ago, when he was asked to dress up as Santa for the annual Orange County Woodworkers Christmas party.

“I was very reluctant to do it, but my wife reminded me that Orange County Woodworkers makes all these toys for underprivileged children, and showed me what I could wear to be a workshop Santa,” Steinmetz said.

“I walked in that night not really knowing what I was doing,” Steinmetz said. “I walked in saying ‘ho, ho, ho.’ They told me I was going to be their Santa forever. So I decided to grow my own beard.”

Friends told Steinmetz he should consider becoming a professional Santa Claus, but his wife had other plans.

Ann Steinmetz had belonged to Breast Cancer Angels since its inception. The year after her husband’s first Santa experience, he was recruited with his new garb to help distribute toys and groceries to the organization’s clients.

“That was my first indoctrination into going out and playing Santa,” Steinmetz said. “My wife came with us a couple times, and saw how Santa interacted with the children. Then she said, ‘I have an idea: I’ll make you a really nice Santa suit, and I’ll be Mrs. Claus, and I bet we could make some money for breast cancer.’”

The couple then attended a seminar at the University of Southern California on being a Santa Claus five years ago.

“Now I’ve got a diploma from USC — the University of Santa Claus,” Steinmetz said.

Mrs. Claus assists by working with the children, introducing Santa and reading from her trove of holiday books by request.

“We’re hoping that Claus for a Cause will continue for as long as our health holds up,” Ann Steinmetz said.

Surprising generosity

“We literally have seen thousands of kids this season,” Jim Steinmetz said. That includes an entire Garden Grove elementary school, which only paid for two hours of time but had 658 students.

“You can’t say, ‘Sorry, but we can’t do any more,” Ann Steinmetz said. “We never leave kids standing in line. “You just don’t.”

The Steinmetzes took an unprecedented move this year when they agreed to book sessions on Christmas Day, because they were afraid the economic downturn would affect Breast Cancer Angels’ funding.

“It’s a tough time,” said Faye Dietiker, the organization’s director. “We work out motels for a lot of families and try to get them into housing, and we have a pro bono attorney and a social worker. We’re a 501(c)3, but we’re not a grant-driven organization; we don’t get Komen funds. We depend on our individuals.”

The Steinmetzes were surprised to find that some people and companies even paid over and above the standard hourly rates this year.

“It was amazing what happened this year,” Ann Steinmetz said. She attributed the increase to a possible wariness by donors this year of large foundations that have received notoriety due to unscrupulous business practices.

“Because Breast Cancer Angels is just a volunteer organization, I think peoples’ hearts really opened up,” she said. “It’s been dizzy, but it’s been a fun season. I think that there’s just been a really good warm spirit that we’re seeing amongst people. I think that’s what we’ve seen more so than anything else this year.”

Dietiker said the Steinmetzes have been family friends for years.

Each year, the couple dons their garb to attend the organization’s annual party at the Boomers amusement park in Fountain Valley, where some children may be celebrating their last Christmas with their mother, Dietiker said.

“They leave with family pictures, and the moms know that they did something normal and fun with their kids. We just try to normalize their lives a little bit. It just brings a ray of sunshine into what can be a very sad time.”

For smaller events, the Steinmetzes offer a service called “Santa’s Big Book,” in which parents or grandparents can send an information sheet about their children about their names, ages, schools, accomplishments, and what they need to work on — which Santa can then use to personalize a child’s experience.

“When the personal information comes out, the kids are just totally blown away,” Jim Steinmetz said. “I tell them that Santa can watch you all the time.”

This year the couple sponsored a Breast Cancer Angels client and her family, bringing gifts and a Christmas tree. The organization also provides food and a gas card.

But the couple doesn’t rest on their laurels in the off-season; they’ve assembled a neighborhood 5-K for the cause that’s raised another $5,000, and there’s talk of a book compiling their experiences.

“But probably the most rewarding things we’ve done is raising our family and watching our grandkids grow up,” Jim Steinmetz said.

The couple will have been married 48 years in January, and have three grown, married children, along with eight grandchildren that range in age from 10 to 25.

“They’re just such wonderful people, and their children are like that, too,” Dietiker said. “There’s not a one of those kids or grandchildren who isn’t out there helping in some way.

“Their 10-year-old granddaughter is our youngest Angel. She’s befriended some of our clients’ children. For our last two Christmas lunches, she’s put on a presentation to get new members. She got 45 new angels at the last one, directly because she gets up there and talks. It’s really hard to resist a 10-year-old who’s putting her own heart and soul and money into being there and helping out with the kids.”

“We were both raised by parents who set great examples,” Jim Steinmetz said. “Having God in our life is first, and all of our children have God-filled marriages.”

Their secret to a happy marriage?

“Two words: ‘Yes, dear,’” Steinmetz said. “Just kidding.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Visiting Santa

WHEN: Noon to 3 p.m. today

WHERE: St. Regis Hotel, 1 Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point

INFORMATION: For more on this event, go to stregismb.com. For more on Jim and Ann Steinmetz, call (714) 842-8793 or visit clausforacause.com. For more on Breast Cancer Angels, call (714) 898-8900 or visit breastcancerangels.org.

CANDICE BAKER may be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.