Thursday is your final chance to pluck a tag off a special Christmas tree in the Comox Valley and make Christmas brighter for a local child.First Insurance Agencies is running the 11th annual Secret Santa program. Since its inception in 2001, Secret Santa has provided an increasing number of gifts to families in need.The Secret Santa concept, which is co-sponsored by JET-FM and the Comox Valley Record, is a simple one.Rather than leave children from cash-strapped families without gifts, Secret Santa allows people to anonymously purchase a gift from a real child’s wishlist, and have that gift connected with the child in time for Christmas.Children’s names are on tags that have been placed on Christmas trees at partner businesses. You remove a tag from a tree, buy a gift, and return the unwrapped gift to the same location, or any First Insurance office.Volunteers  anonymously deliver the gifts to the parents of the registered children, for opening on Christmas day.This year, trees are in all First Insurance offices. In the Comox Valley, trees are located at Ascent Physio, Courtenay Family Chiropractic, Cumberland Dental, Curves Courtenay, Dairy Queen​, Driftwood Dental, Glacier Greens, Plates, Shoppers Drug Mart​, South Country Feed, Fitness Excellence and the Comox Valley Record plus the three First Insurance offices.It is the goal of program organizers that no child in the community is left to greet Christmas morning without a gift. If you are unable to shop, you can also participate by donating to the program, and one of the Secret Santa volunteers will do the shopping for you.For more information, residents can call First Insurance at 250-703-0858 or 1-800-655-5255 or visit any one of the Comox, Courtenay or Campbell River offices.

Comox Valley Record