BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Santa and Mrs. Claus are coming to town Friday — and they’re bringing cookies, cornhole and a colonoscopy screening kit. Matthew and Angela Ising, known as Santa and Mrs. Claus, will host the second annual Sleigh Cancer Awareness Festival at Courthouse Square in Inez.
The festival starts at 3 p.m. and goes until dusk. There will be cancer education booths, live music, vendors, baked goods, food trucks, children’s activities. This year brings a cornhole tournament, a basketball shooting contest, raffles, a candlelight vigil, photo booths and more.
The Isings are the founders of Give Like Santa — a grassroots nonprofit that turns goodwill into year-round service.
“Our mission is to give like Santa and love like Jesus,” is the couple’s motto.
Through their charity, they help raise awareness and funding for causes ranging from heart disease to food insecurity. But cancer is their biggest focus, driven in part by personal experience.
“It’s affected our family just as it’s affected everyone, especially here in eastern Kentucky,” Matthew said.
The couple raises money for Pelotonia, a Columbus, Ohio–based nonprofit that funds research at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – The James. Though they once rode in the event’s signature two-day bike ride, they now serve as “Challengers.” The couple fundraises from March through October. Pelotonia has raised more than $309 million over the past 17 years.
Sleigh Cancer will benefit Pelotonia.
“This year we’re going to make the Sleigh Cancer Awareness Festival 50/50 fundraising and awareness,” said Angela Ising. “We learned so much last year. We learned that Kentucky is No. 1 in the country as a state for colon cancer and lung cancer. It’s also No. 1 for when you find out you have cancer, you’re already stage 3 or stage 4.”
The statistics have shaped the programming. Sleigh Cancer will feature inflatable walk-through models of a lung and colon — on loan from the University of Kentucky King’s Daughters — along with cancer education booths supported by the American Cancer Society.
“They may be bringing some take-home test kits for colons,” Angela said. “If they take that and they have an issue, they might get [a colonoscopy] and catch it sooner.”
The Isings have also partnered with the Kentucky Blood Center to host an on-site blood drive from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Court Street.
“Twenty-five percent of our blood supply goes to cancer patients,” Angela noted.
Donors who register in advance and give blood will receive a Kentucky Donor T-shirt, a BOGO pizza coupon from Clark’s Pump-N-Shop and a chance to win free gas for a year. Mrs. Claus will also give each donor one of her Pelotonia pistachio cookies and a button. She hopes the button will encourage others to donate blood.
Beyond medical outreach, the event is a celebration — particularly for families and survivors.
Children’s activities will include sidewalk chalk, face painting, bubbles and other activities.
At 6 p.m., a cornhole tournament will take place in the First State Bank parking lot. The $20 team entry fee unlocks a chance to win gift certificates donated by Smokin’ J’s Rib & Brew House in Ashland — $200 for first place, $100 for second, and $50 for third, all in gift certificates valid there or at their sister steakhouse, The Winchester in Ashland.
“We’re really looking for some cornhole people to come out and play,” said Matthew Ising. “We have some wonderful prizes.”
There will also be a basketball shooting contest with a new goal as the prize — and two moments the Isings say will be especially meaningful.
“We have survivor bells,” Matthew said. “We encourage people to come in and take the pictures. There’s going to be an arch there. Ring that bell for winning — because that’s what they’ve done. That’s something that Pelotonia does, and it’s a cool thing. Everybody hears it and they’re clapping.”
The evening will close with a candlelight vigil in front of the courthouse — a tradition started last year that the Isings say will continue to grow.
“Of the whole year and all the things that went on, I think that was extremely special here in Inez,” Matthew said. “It gave us a chance to remember who we’ve lost.”
The Isings are also preparing additional raffles, including a “big” item yet to be announced.
For the Isings, other fundraisers will continue throughout the summer as part of their ongoing mission to “give like Santa” — not just in December but also during “Christmas in July” and several more. Give Like Santa functions as what Angela calls a “multiplier,” channeling the attention they receive in costume toward the causes they support.
Through Santa Causes, they help organize back-to-school drives, support veterans groups, operate a food pantry at Turkey Creek Church of the Nazarene, and support local organizations such as the Martin County Health Department. They partner with the American Heart Association and regularly participate in the Cincinnati Heart Mini-Marathon & Walk.
Next week, the Isings will head to Columbus for a series of events.
“We will be at City BBQ in Columbus,” Matthew said. “They give a percentage of their sales.”
Angela added, “They let me sell my baked goods as well.”
Duluth Trading Company — where they appear as Santas in Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia — allows them to set up fundraising tents with food trucks, goodies and raffles.
“We’ll do that on the 14th,” Angela said.
To register for the Sleigh Cancer blood drive or cornhole tournament, scan the QR code in the flyer below or visit Give Like Santa’s Facebook page.
