Some of the neediest children in Tompkins County will have real reason to believe in Santa Claus this year, thanks to the work of a group of Cornell University "elves."

The Needy Children's Holiday Project, an ad hoc group involving some 600 Cornell staff, faculty members and students, will deliver about $100 worth of clothing and toys to each of 106 seriously needy children this year, according to Bill Alberta, director of the Career Development Office of the Office of Academic Programs of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, who coordinates the project.

"It started in our office," Alberta explains. "We used to give each other a $5 gift, but we decided there were better ways to spend the money, and now it's spread all over the campus, from here to the Law School."

People participate in the program in a variety of ways, Alberta said. Some donate money, some shop, some wrap the presents. Some donations come from individuals, some from whole offices. Some participants sponsor a particular child.

The program works with school nurses and counselors in seven local school districts to identify the most needy children, then prepares a detailed profile showing each child's hobbies, interests and needs. Each child will receive basic items of clothing, from pajamas to shoes, and always at least a couple of toys. The group has developed a number of shopping tricks to get the items they need at low cost. "Every elf dollar is stretched to the max," Alberta says.

To those who say that children hate to receive clothes for Christmas, Alberta responds: "To these kids, new clothes, warm clothes are a big deal. We have school nurses tell us about kids who come back from the holidays so proud to have a new outfit. I remember seeing one little girl coming to school in the snow in frayed sneakers; that was all she had."