MOORE COUNTY -- Folks in Moore County call him Santa, and with this warehouse full of toys, Mr. Earl Wright sure looks like the real thing.

For more than 20 years, he's been collecting bicycles to hand out to children in need on Christmas Day, and this holiday is no different. 

Mr. Earl Wright and his helpers get started right after the holidays, collecting over 1,000 bicycles, old and new, in hopes that every child has something on Christmas.

"This one little boy about this small came up to me, and I was shocked," Wright said. "He didn't want a bike. All he wanted was a hug. He just wanted to hug Project Santa."

It's the love they get from receiving that motivates those with Project Santa to keep giving. 

Last Christmas, 80 bikes were stolen from their lot, but the set-back didn't stop them this year. 

"It' an internal feeling," Sharon Thompson said. "That you can give someone's child, someone you don't even know, something that their heart so desires." 

Project Santa is a full-time job, fixing and assembling hundreds of bikes to ensure they look sparkly and new on Christmas morning.

The organization has become a staple in this community, with plenty of people donating time, man-power, and bikes.

"Earl does an amazing job of bringing Christmas to children who wouldn't normally have one," said Mellisa Holt with the Mid Carolina Regional Association of Realtors. "This just seemed like the perfect thing to do to finish out our year of projects and giving back to the community."

Last year, Project Santa collected 1,400 bikes, and this year, they're aiming for 2,000.

"The look on the kids' faces is amazing," Wright said. "It will rock your whole world." 

The Project Santa bike giveaway will take place Christmas morning near the Fresh Foods IGA on Broad Street in Southern Pines starting at 8:00 a.m.