jason

Jason Carter

SANTA
Written 2007

As the number of shopping days left before Christmas dwindle, some last minute shoppers may be wishing they were more like Jason Carter, who started shopping for holiday gifts right after last Christmas. "Throughout the year I buy various toys at my supermarket," Carter said. "By the time Christmas comes, I am loaded to the brim."

Carter, 41, is a special Santa. For 15 years, he has been buying and donating toys to various local groups, who then make sure the toys are given to disadvantaged children.

Carter is autistic and says he long ago felt compelled to give toys to needy children. At first, he bought a few toys throughout the year. Now he buys at least one item each month and in November, finishes his shopping using money from his Christmas club account. In October he delivered 50 gifts to Bienvenidos, a nonprofit children's agency in Altadena.

The toys had been stored in a spare bedroom in his mother's San Marino home. "This year, I have more than ever," he said. "I have enough to give Santa a run for his money." Carter is most proud of the DVD games and plastic tricycle he snared at bargain prices and two Disney Cinderella dolls that were included in his gift collection. "Cinderella" happens to be Carter's favorite movie and Disneyland is a place he likes to visit often. "About once a month," he said. "But I've had to taper off lately."

Other gifts he bought include childhood favorites such as Hot Wheels and Barbie dolls. "I appreciate things now that I didn't when I was younger," he said. Carter is extremely choosy about the toys he buys. In addition to authentic Disney items, he prefers toys that were popular when he was child. There are also toys he would never buy. "Like Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles or toys from any R-rated movies," he said.

Jason's mother, Judith Carter, said she is not sure where her son got the idea to donate toys. "My husband and I have always donated to charities, but we never sat the children down and taught them this," she said. "As a boy, Jason did love Christmas and getting toys."

Jason grew up on San Marino with one brother and one sister. Although he attended special education classes at public school and the Frostig Center, a school specializing in teaching disabled children, he was not diagnosed with autism until he was about 29. Autism is a communication disorder and within that diagnosis there is a wide range of commuunication abilities among the different individuals.

Carter is extremely intelligent and a very articulate speaker, but the difference between his intellect and his social and emotional levels are vast, Judith Carter explained. His organization skills, however, has made Carter the envy of many last-minute Christmas shoppers, including his mother. They also have made him a success at the Walden School in Pasadena where he works in the library. Carter will celebrate his 10-year anniversary at the school in October. "He is extremely organized, conscientious and methodical," Walden School Library manager Carolyn Hancock said. "He helps the children find books. He really does a great job." "He gives a lot of donations of books and tapes." Hancock said. "He is a major Disney fan, so he brings in (Disney books) as well." "He is a very generous person," said the library's assistant director Christena Barnes. "He is very dear to our hearts and we feel he gives a lot to us."

Carter lives independently in Arcadia and enjoys watching reruns of classic game shows on television like "Password" and "Jeopardy" and playing classic board games like "Concentration." "It's hard to find people who want to play them," he said. Carter admits that he doesn't like change. He vows that he will never own a cellular phone and he is hesitant about using a computer or the Internet.

His biggest pet peeve is when people talk to him as if he were a child, something he has experienced many times throughout his life. "I have adopted a zero tolerance policy," he said. "If someone speaks to me like I am a 5-year old, I will tell them to knock it off. Well, not always. It is hard, sometimes."

Carter's donated toys will reach some 3,000 children served by Bienvenidos Children's Center, said Chief Development Officer Kent Wallace. "The toys will most likely go to some of our foster care families, family service families, and mental health outpatient families," he said. "We provide gifts to many low-income, abused, and neglected children." Wallace said many of the gifts are distributed at the holiday parties held at various centers. "It boosts their self-esteem to receive a gift and to know that someone thought of them at holiday time."

As for Carter, he recently became an uncle for the first time. He went in with his mother to buy his 3-month old niece a book. But she'll soon be old enough for her very own Disney princess, courtesy of Uncle Jason. "She's a lucky girl," Judith Carter said.