NEW YORK — It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. It’s also easy to forget that there are plenty of children who don’t get to experience the joy of receiving gifts for Christmas.For the fourth year in a row, Eastern Funding took the time to see that some of New York’s poor children and their families received a little Christmas cheer.Eastern Funding is a Manhattan-based firm specializing in lending to small businesses, especially Laundromats.Last week, the company took part in the U.S. Post Office’s “Operation Santa Claus.” More than 40 employees picked a letter written to Santa and purchased the gift themselves — mostly shoes, coats, hats, sweaters and toys.After the employees wrapped the gifts, they brought them to a midtown post office to be delivered by Christmas. The company paid for the shipping and wrapping.Santa Claus, of a sort, also made an appearance at a Laundromat in Hammonton, N.J., last week. The store had a handful of customers at 5:50 a.m. when a man walked in, wished everyone “Merry Christmas” and then handed out $180 to various patrons.There was some skepticism at first, but the customers soon realized that this was no holiday hoax.One of the customers said, “Next time my grandchildren ask me if there is a Santa, I’ll say, ‘There sure is.’”
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