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Christmas hamper drive targets lonely seniors

December 3, 2014   ·   0 Comments

Often times with the excitement of Santa and Christmas, there are people for whom the magic of the season has stopped being magical, and instead brings a reminder of darkness, memories of what once was.

For a senior in today’s world, the option to live where they would like is often stripped from them when they are left with only their government pension and old age security as income, leaving them to move into whatever nursing home they can afford, even if that ends up being far away from family and home.

“Most nursing homes try their very best to take care of the residents that live there, but due to budget constraints, sometimes only the basic necessities are taken care of,” said Tracy Haworth of Supersaverca Video Surveillance, Alarms & Access Control Systems, and one of the co-creators of the Senior Santa Christmas Hamper Drive Program. “What about those seniors that have no families to visit and have stopped believing in the magic of Santa?”

It was for this reason that in 2010 Ms. Haworth founded the Senior Santa Christmas Hamper Program, which aims to remind all seniors who are cared for through the nursing homes, meals on wheels, assisted living and other members of the community, that they have not been forgotten by the people around them.

“As long as the program keeps growing and the very giving citizens continues to donate, no senior will ever be forgotten, and soon they will all believe that there is a Santa and that he cares,” said Ms. Haworth. “Everyone deserves a bit of Santa magic at Christmas time, and when he visits that special senior with their gifts, they know someone in the community has taken the time to provide the items for them.”

Sometimes the items are hand-knit socks, shawls and blankets; others are large print word searches, and body lotions. The hope is that each time the senior uses one of those items, they are reminded that they matter and the community wants to show them love.

In 2010, with the support of the community, the first Senior Santa hamper program was able to provide more than 200 seniors with gifts, even while on a limited budget and an incredibly short time-frame to bring the project together.

“It is an incredible accomplishment and the program recognizes that our seniors in this community were being left out during such a magical time of year,” said Ms. Haworth.

In the program’s second year, Ms. Haworth was faced with the challenge of finding a way to provide gifts to more than 500 seniors whose names were submitted by local nursing homes and long-term care facilities, meals on wheels, and through other community assistance programs.

“The word slowly spread, donations started coming in, and our house was filling up with all of the donations,” said Ms. Haworth. “Local businesses were contacted, and best of all, the community started to realize how much our local seniors need our help at Christmas, and that they too need to have a bit of Santa Magic on Christmas Day.”

This year, the Senior Santa Christmas Hamper Program will be working to touch the lives of local seniors once again. The program has grown again, this time to include the chance to adopt a senior for those who currently work as licensed PSWs throughout the county.

Donations can be dropped off between now until December 20 at a number of locations and businesses that have partnered with the Haworths to spread the Christmas Cheer in time for Christmas Day. Cash donations are also accepted through the website or at Quest for Cakes Bakery on Centennial.

For further information, you can contact Mike and Tracy Haworth by phone at 519-341-4581, by email at seniorsanta@yahoo.ca or online at www.seniorsanta.ca.


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