Time is running out for children in need to get Christmas presents this year, and the Averys are asking for generous donors throughout Hampton Roads to join them for “Christmas Sponsorship (757).”

“Christmas Sponsorship (757)” is a Facebook group run by Kendra and Savannah Avery that connects families in need with families willing to help, according to the group’s Facebook page. This is part of the “Coastal Virginia Philanthropy Group.”

Savannah said she started helping children around the holidays three years ago, after a Facebook conversation in which parents discussed whether or not they should tell their children that Santa Claus is real. According to her, one mother said that she couldn’t tell her child that Santa was real because she couldn’t afford Christmas presents.

“That just broke my heart,” she said. “Not only was the child not going to get Christmas gifts, but Christmas was forever ruined because Santa wasn’t real.”

She joined a Facebook group to sponsor children around the holidays, and when the group’s administrator said that group was going to be shut down, she took over.

The group has been accepting applications and sponsoring children since Halloween this year. As of Thursday, about 1,400 kids have been sponsored across Hampton Roads and as far away as Williamsburg, including 218 children in Suffolk, Savannah said.

But there are still 100 or so kids in need, and the deadline for sponsorships is on Dec. 15. The Averys are asking for more help to finish their list and guarantee that presents are under the tree for all them.

Savannah said it would be terrible for these children to go unsponsored when so many have been taken care of already.

“We’re down to the wire now,” she said. “We’re really trying to get the last few sponsored.”

To sponsor a child for toy or monetary donations, join the group by searching “Christmas Sponsorship (757)” on Facebook and follow the instructions on the Facebook page.