When the Toronto Star’s Santa Claus Fund box is delivered by volunteers just before Christmas, Vicente Serna, 10, knows exactly what it is.

The colours and characters on the sturdy cardboard box may change year to year, but Serna, who has autism, always recognizes that his special gift has arrived and he opens it right away.

“He can’t wait. He says ‘Mommy, there is the box from Santa,’ ” says his mother, Sheila Serna, 41, who registered her son for the boxes through the Yonge St. Mission in Cabbagetown, which is close to where they live.

He’s been getting them since 2005, she says, and every year, he’s delighted with the contents which include a toy, book, mittens, socks, hat, clothing, and candy. Kids 4 to 12 get toothpaste and a toothbrush.

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And it’s the latter item, that is Vicente’s favourite. “He always loves the toothbrush,” says Serna. And he uses it — his “teeth are excellent,” she says with pride.

But it’s the look on her son’s face when he gets the Star box that brings a beam to her own when she describes it. “He is so happy — you have to see him, the look, when he opens the box.”

Every year, with the help of volunteers, the Santa Claus Fund distributes 45,000 gift boxes to underprivileged children in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Ajax and Pickering.

Serna expresses her gratitude for the box and the Yonge St. Mission, where she has found support and strength, through volunteer work. She puts in many hours regularly at the mission’s food bank and also helps with some of the duties involved with YSM’s Christmas Toy Market, where lower-income parents can register to pick a gift for their children from new, donated items. Every year, about 2,000 children from 850 families get a toy from the market at the Mission, which has been helping feed, clothe and sustain Toronto’s inner city residents since 1896.

“They have helped me so much. Everyone is always welcome here. I want to help other people and give back to my community,” says Serna, who was born in Montreal, but adopted by a couple from Venezuela and grew up in that country.

She returned to Canada when her son was about 2 years old and went to English as a Second Language classes because she only spoke Spanish when she arrived. When Vicente went to kindergarten he was referred for testing and she found out that he was autistic and also has ADHD.

Life has been a struggle but Serna’s not a complainer. She went back to school and got a community service worker diploma and hopes to find a job “helping people.”