December

If you ever had any doubts about whether Father Christmas, Santa Claus, or St Nick (whatever you like to call him) really does exist, then an identity check would prove to you… he does.

Santa Claus really does exist. When he’s not flying around the world on a magic sleigh delivering presents to all the good children on Christmas Eve, he lives in Long Island, USA and runs a catering company called Santa’s BBQ.

As reported by The Washington Post, he could be just any old white-haired man who loves Christmas and looks like Santa, but that is really his name. And if a child questions his identity, he’s got plenty of documentation.

“I show them my driver’s license, credit card and insurance cards,” said Mr Claus “Now, I have proof that I am who I say I am. All of a sudden, it becomes more magical.”

But the magic doesn’t just end with his name and looks. He also worked in the early 2000s as a Santa Claus at Macy’s in Manhattan, the store of “Miracle on 34th Street” fame.

His children loved the experience so much that he continued to play the Santa role at community and private events.

Claus pours his heart and soul into his Father Christmas role and goes as far as he can with it.

He doesn’t have flying reindeer or chimney-sliding magic, but, he does have the natural white beard and a red Santa suit. His phone even plays “Here Comes Santa Claus” to entertain the caller as the line rings.

Claus even bought a sleigh, originally used as a horse-drawn carriage in New York City’s Central Park, and had it refurbished.

He also has a Facebook page with 31,000 followers. To prove that he was legitimate and not perpetuating a false identity, Claus had to send Facebook his court papers.

Although he is reluctant to mention it, Claus told The Washington Post his original name was Frank Pascuzzi, and he lives in Copiague, N.Y.

He went to court to sign papers and change his name after a background check. The process took more than three hours, but after the judge said yes, it became official: Frank Pascuzzi was now Santa Claus.

The only people who still call Claus by his former name are his wife and father, who call him Frank. Then there are his children, who just call him Dad.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at Verifile.
 

Verifile’s teams will still be here to help with all your background screening needs over the Christmas season.

Barring the bank holidays our teams will be contactable via our normal channels and during business hours. There will be a reduced number of staff so please do bear with us if we experience high demand.

Our opening times are as follows:

• 23 December: Normal opening hours 8.30am - 5.30pm
• 24 December: Office closed from 1:30pm
• 25 December: Office closed
• 26 December: Office closed
• 27 December: Normal opening hours 8.30am - 5.30pm
• 28 December: Office closed
• 29 December: Office closed
• 30 December: Normal opening hours 8.30am - 5.30pm
• 31 December: Normal opening hours 8.30am - 5.30pm
• 01 January:     Office closed
• 02 January:     Normal opening hours resume

General Enquiries:               Client Services:                      Candidate Team:

Call: +44 (0) 1234 339 339    Call: +44 (0) 1234 339 350       Call: +44 (0) 1234 339 300

email: info@verifile.co.uk    email: service@verifile.co.uk email: service@verifile.co.uk

We’re really pleased to tell you that in 2019 the team here at Verifile raised over £1,800 for charity.

As our charity of the year, Cancer Research UK will get the biggest share of the fundraising pot, with £1,500 going to support their aim to reduce the number of deaths from cancer.


This fantastic pot of cash was raised thanks to the hard work of Verifile staff and our social committee who organised several events, including:

• Verifest: A summer festival for all staff and their families which included food, live music, a fete and games. A raffle at the event raised around £600 thanks to businesses in Bedford and beyond who donated everything from beer to trips to Blenheim Palace.
• Halloween Fancy Dress: On the spookiest day of the year, Verifile staff dressed in their most creative and spooky of outfits to raise cash for Stand up 2 Cancer, which supports Cancer Research UK.
• Bake Sales: Various bake sales were held throughout the year, all with various themes to keep bellies and  charity boxes full.

Tadhg Lydon, Verifile’s .net developer and social committee member said: “Cancer is unfortunately something that will affect most people at some point in their lives. Having personally dealt with its consequences, it can be devastating.

“It’s therefore lovely for people within the company to come together and help support Cancer Research UK and their mission of reducing the effect of this horrible disease.”

With Christmas coming up we’ll also be opening donation boxes for unwanted gifts and other items for staff to donate. These will then be taken to one of our local Cancer Research UK shops for them to sell.

We also helped raise funds for two other worthy causes.

Charities supported by BBC’s Children in Need will benefit after we raised £200 through a Pudsey inspired bake sale and fancy dress and by taking part in the Duck Race Sweepstake.

And the Christmas spirit was also channelled through our offices to support Save The Children by holding a Christmas Jumper Day and playing various festive games.

Looking ahead to 2020, we’ll continue supporting Cancer Research UK, with events already planned to help keep the donations coming in, including taking part in the Bedford River Festival raft race and World Cancer Day.

We’ll also continue to see how best to support various other charities throughout the year to help those in need.

If you’d like to help Verifile support Cancer Research UK to fund scientists, doctors and nurses to help beat cancer sooner, then we’d be incredibly grateful if you would donate at the Verifile Giving Page.