DAPHNE, Ala.— Christmas comes but once a year for most of us. But Santa-America, a Daphne-based, nonprofit organization, keeps the holiday spirit all year round.

The group visits children in hospice or in the hospital suffering from chronic pediatric illnesses and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We’re in 44 states and six foreign countries,” Santa-America founder and president Ernest Berger said. “We’re a unique Alabama-based and Alabama-founded organization.”

The group’s  members—costumed Santas and elves who come with the gifts of love, joy and compassion—visit sick children year round.

“Once a Santa visits the family, that Santa will continue to visit as long as humanly possible,” Berger said. “I’ve been visiting a special boy in Fairhope for three years now.

“We have a long-term relationship with our families,” he said.

However, charitable foundations and organizations across the country have felt the effects of the slumping national economy—and Santa’s no exception.

As budgets get tighter, Santa-America reports a dramatic decrease in donation totals.

“Our donations are running about 50 percent from last year’s (total) and our number of children we visit has doubled,” he said. “We need support; this is a tough time.”

Santa America’s annual operating costs are $70,000, according to executive director Cathy Barnette. This budget pays for: daily travel expenditures for reimbursing Santas, staff salaries, training and conferences.

“We would like to be at an operating budget at around $200,000 to 225,000 a year,” she said.

With the economic downturn, Berger sees the effects of parents of sick children having lost their jobs and health coverage.

“We now increasingly see one or both parents dealing with a crisis without a job,” he said.

Such a situation can be devastating financially and emotionally, especially during the holiday season.

But Santa-America is there to keep the families’ spirits raised and to provide a much-needed, big ‘Santa hug.’

This year, Santa-America is delivering copies of Sheila Alberstadt’s “An Angel in the Sky,” to children in hospice and hospitals and their families. The book was written to help children deal with extraordinary circumstances  such as battling a terminal illness.

“We will be leaving that book with every hospice in the area,” Berger said.

The organization was founded in 2003 and since has grown to more than 300 volunteers. Santa-America employs a lengthy selection process for choosing its Santas that includes an in-depth background check.

Santa-America is asking for donations to help the program continue to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

Visit the organization’s Web site at www.santa-america.org to find out more information on making a contribution.

“We’ve got to put some gas in Santa’s sleigh,” Berger said.