It’s a way a local business is reaching out help those children in Lawrence County who might not have a happy Christmas.

That’s what is going to happen tonight from 5 to 9 p.m. at Buffalo Wild Wings when a percentage of the restaurant’s sales will go to help fund this year’s Secret Santa program.

The program, headed up by the Young Professionals, wants to make sure as many children in the county have warm clothing for the winter and toys under the Christmas tree. However, this year the need is so much greater that the Young Professionals are asking for as much help as possible.

That’s why those at the Secret Santa are so appreciative of what Buffalo Wild Wings is doing. And those at the restaurant say they are glad to help.

“I think it is a wonderful thing,” the restaurant’s general manager Nancy Howell said. “Anything to help these little children. We got with the program last year and we had a really good turnout for it all. Everybody was a winner.”

This season the Secret Santa program is aiming to help almost 700 children, almost twice the number as last Christmas with coats, shoes, clothing as well as toys.

And the shopping has already started. Just like everybody else teams of Young Professionals hit the malls on Black Friday trying to take in as many bargains and stretch their funds as far as they could.

“We were out late taking advantage of early Black Friday deals, coats and toys,” Casey Baker of the Young Professionals said. “We were there right at midnight as soon as the deals started. We shopped until 3 in the morning, came home and got a little sleep and then were back out there.”

The goal is to be able to supply all of the requests for help that the program has gotten this year.

Anyone in the area can help the Secret Santa program by sending a check of any amount made out to the LEDC Secret Santa and send it to the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce office, P.O. Box 488, South Point, OH 45680.

Or they can also sponsor children by contacting Baker at 304-691-8410 or emailing at lcypgroup@gmail.com.

The special Secret Santa event runs from 5 to 9 p.m. tonight.

“This is a great organization,” Howell said.