WSU’s Circle K Club celebrates season with 10th annual breakfast with santa

Dec. 12, 2019 | Dennis Hackett

WESTFIELD – For the 10th straight year Westfield State’s Circle K club took over the University’s dining hall Dec. 7 for breakfast for families to celebrate the holidays.

Dining hall staff and Circle K club members dressed up for the holiday season with reds and greens along with plenty of Santa hats and reindeer antlers. The hall was adorned with holiday colors and other decorations while Westfield families packed into the dining area to have breakfast.

While Westfield State has hosted a Breakfast with Santa for many years, the Circle K club took over preparations for the breakfast in 2009, according to the club’s faculty advisor, Matt Dellea.

Preparations for the breakfast began in September of this year when Dellea and the Circle K Club began to work with the University to figure out the logistics of the event. “It’s a collaborative effort, there’s a lot that goes into it,” he said, “We have to work with Westfield State Dining to ensure we have menus prepared, a layout for the event, and that their staff is on board so we can run this event.”

The club also worked with the Kiwanis of Westfield and one of the other leadership clubs on campus in order to prepare and host the breakfast. “We work very closely with the Kiwanis of Westfield who send volunteers to help us out. We’re also working with the Figures club, which focuses their community efforts on children, it’s truly a collaborative effort,” he said.

Since the Circle K Club took over organizing for the event, they have expanded the breakfast from its smaller selection of food. He said, “We have been able to take our breakfast from having just one meal option to having all of the areas in our dining services open for the day. So we have omelets, pancakes, waffles, cereal – you name it, we have it.”

Dellea explained that the Circle K club is a nationwide community service organization in colleges and universities and the Westfield State iteration is a part of the New England Chapter of the organization with several other universities. He said the club is sponsored by the Kiwanis of Westfield and is a service leadership program under its umbrella.

While the club hosts various community service events throughout the year, Dellea said the Breakfast with Santa might be the most important one of the year. “It’s probably our biggest event of the year, it’s where we reach the most impact in the community,” he said.

“I think it’s really important that we do this for the community. The University is a huge part of the city of Westfield and for our students to be able to give back to the community is important to us,” Dellea said, “It’s also a really fun time and a chance for the kids to forget about school and think about the holidays.”

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