A secret Santa made some huge gifts to Brown County charities this holiday season.

The Brown County Community Foundation distributed $179,000 in anonymous donations to deserving community organizations. All the checks had been distributed by the week before Christmas, said Maddison Miller, CEO of the foundation.

Details about who the donor or donors were, which or how many groups received money, and how much they received were not released.

However, an anonymous tipster revealed that two of the recipients were Access Brown County and the We Care Gang.

Access, the county’s public transportation service, received $25,000, while the We Care Gang, which helps residents with emergency food and shelter needs, received $10,000.

“It’s an incredible Christmas gift,” said Jim Lawrence, president of the We Care Gang.

“It’s been given to a group that’s really hard working and dedicated to helping those less fortunate in Brown County. It’s pretty cool.”

The We Care Gang hosts the annual Abe Martin County Picnic in downtown Nashville featuring the NASHCAR Outhouse Races. That’s the group’s only fundraiser for the year.

Lawrence said this money will be spent paying bills for local families in need or buying them food.

“It’s over the top. It’s going to allow us to help so many more people that are in need,” he said. “A family that has maybe both or one spouse working, then there’s an illness that needs to be taken care of, then a lot of things fall through the cracks that we can come in and stabilize it. Almost always, there’s children involved.”

The We Care Gang is made aware of people in need by various agencies throughout the county, like churches and township trustees.

The We Care Gang will get referrals of people who are about to have their utilities shut off and it will step in and pay the bill — “those essential things that a home and family needs,” Lawrence said.

Checks are usually written directly to the company needing to be paid rather than to the individual they are helping, he said.

“With this grant, we can help so many more people. It’s tremendous and really awesome,” he said.

The We Care Gang received its donation right before Christmas. Access received its before Thanksgiving, said Program Director Kim Robinson.

“(It was an) utter surprise,” she said. “It was a great feeling to get that.”

In 2018, Access vans drove local people a total of 98,853 miles to work, medical appointments or on other trips.

In 2017, total miles were 76,921.

Since 2014, when the Brown County YMCA took over the program, Access has logged a total of 343,501 miles.

The number of people who used Access in 2018 was 6,730. That is a slight decrease from 2017, which was a total of 6,820. However, Robinson said more people are repeat riders who are relying on Access as transportation to make essential trips inside and outside the county.

Each year, Access receives $15,000 in funding from the county. The county also pays for the vans’ fuel. “If we didn’t have the fuel paid for by the county, it’d be a tough road,” Robinson said.

Recently, Access received a $10,000 grant from the Smithville Foundation that will go toward paying 20 percent of a new van. The remaining cost will be covered by a federal grant administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation.

The 2019 Ford E350 small transit van will hold two wheelchairs and seat eight more people. It will replace one of the older buses, which probably will be retired, giving Access three vans total to use.

The $25,000 anonymous donation will be used to upgrade the new vehicle with driver comfort and extra safety features, like absorbing bumpers.

Robinson said recently, Access’ vehicle insurance went up “astronomically.” The group’s budget was able to cover it, but “this donation gave us a little bit of breathing room.”

Access also receives a $10,000 annual grant through Thrive Alliance to cover senior riders over the age of 60 who ride for free. For other riders, the fee is $5 one way in-county or $7.50 one way out-of-county.

Robinson said it was a “great feeling” to receive the anonymous donation.

“It will just keep us on the road and keep us serving our community. Lots of people are relying on our transportation,” she said.