SAN ANTONIO — *Editor's note: The attached video is from a story that ran on December 22, 2019.
Louise Locker, founder of the Elf Lousie Christmas Project, announced her retirement from the charity organization.
The announcement came via Facebook Saturday morning.
Locker said that after 50 years of being so heavily involved with the project, she will be stepping back to, among other things counsel, spend time with family, work on a memoir, and participate in "some collaborations that address ways to deal with life’s challenges."
While Locker said that she will miss being hands-on with the project, she wrote, "I have full faith that the project will endure far beyond any of us because you have made this your personal mission to see that the children who might be overlooked at Christmas will be blessed with the love and magic of Santa and his elves bearing gifts."
In 1969, three days before Christmas, Locker and her mother, Anne, decided to provide gifts to thirteen families with 65 children and 200 requests for toys.
Since that Christmas 50 years ago, the Elf Louis Christmas Project has helped provide gifts to more than 1.5 million children.
"It has been a labor of love for nearly all of my life. I have received so much more than I have given; and for that, I am humbled and deeply grateful. With everyone’s heartfelt commitment, may The Christmas Project last forever as a testament to how much people care about each other. We all need to believe in “magic”, that dreams really can come true and the world can be a place where we look out for one another. "
You can read Locker's letter in its entirety below:
To learn more about the Elf Louise Christmas Project, click here.