Photo: Ray Ferster

The story of a little girl who had her wagon stolen from the carport in front of her Rutland home this week touched a nerve, with multiple people reaching out to offer to help the family by purchasing a new wagon.

The father of the girl tells Castanet he appreciates the offers of help, "there are some good people out there"

"We don't need the charity though, we will get our own."

One of the offers of help came from Ray Ferster, a well known Santa in the Okanagan. Ferster says his heart went out to the little girl as he thought about her father trying to explain why her wagon was gone.

"I just wouldn't want the magic of the season to be destroyed because of something like this," says Ferster.

"It's keeping that magic alive."

Ferster has been dressing up as Santa for years, but not for the money. He donates most of his earnings to charity and he loves making children smile.

"You can make lots of money. My journey isn't about that, as I tell others, at the end of our journey, if I can leave the earth rich in good deeds to others, I will die a rich man."

Ferster prides himself on being able to connect with the children who come to see him and he looks forward to this time of year.

One of his favourite memories is of a little boy who didn't know what he wanted for Christmas. Once they got talking it turned out the boy's best friend was battling cancer and he wished for his friend to get better.

That request was a bit outside Ferster's abilities, but he managed to bring a smile to the boy's face by giving him two stuffed snowmen, one for the boy and one for him to give to his friend.

"They're the ones that make it magical and we as adults have to help keep that magic alive," he said.

"It's just, 'be the change you want to see in the world', and I want to try and inspire other people. So when I talk about what I do, I'm not boasting. I'm trying to inspire other people to do what they can to make it just a little bit better."

Ferster says he will be at the Kelowna Save-On-Foods Dec. 13, 14 and 22 and will also be at the Save-on-Foods in Winfield on Dec. 15.