LUMBERTON — Employees of the Campbell Soup Company in Maxton played Santa on Friday, delivering a truckload of food, clothes, hygiene items and bicycles to the Robeson Church and Community Center.

The items will be distributed to families in Robeson County, brightening the season for many who otherwise would be facing a dismal Christmas.

“This is amazing. It’s awesome,” the Rev. Jane Esdale, executive director of the center, said as she looked on as about 30 spirited Campbell employees, singing Christmas carols, unloaded the truck. “This always raises my spirits. They do this every year.”

When everything was unloaded, there were 131 bicycles and tricycles, several pallets of food, clothes and hygiene supplies ready for distribution. The Campbell employees had delivered a similar amount of items for distribution in Scotland County earlier in the day.

For the Campbell employees, their Christmas Cheer Program is one of the highlights of the year.

“Everyone looks forward to doing this every year. It’s all about giving,” said Brenda Locklear, a Campbell inventory control worker. “We have been fortunate this year (despite the weak economy) and it gives us great pleasure and joy to be able to give back to the community.”

Cathy Poole, the company’s Employee Relations manager, agrees.

‘The employees work hard raising money. They start before Thanksgiving,” she said. “Everyone likes to get involved.”

Poole said that the Campbell workers taking part in the delivery of items to Robeson and Scotland counties are “employee relations leaders” representing different divisions of the company. Management was also represented, she said.

Currently, Poole said, the company employs about 862 workers at its Maxton plant. There are also 350 contract workers who are hired during the busy soup-making season.

This year, employees of Unilever, in Raeford, joined the Campbell employees in their efforts to spread Christmas cheer. They supplied all of the hygiene products.

Esdale told the Campbell employees that their giving will go a long way to help needy families in Robeson County.

“We are blessed. This will make Christmas for a lot of families,” she said. “We love you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Esdale she said that for the past several months the company has been supplying the center with its products on a monthly basis.

“This brings a steady supply of staples into our food supply that we didn’t have before,” she said.