December 5, 2019 · 0 Comments
By Brian Lockhart
Christmas may be the season for family and friends to get together, but not everyone has a family or a place to go.
The Senior’s Santa Christmas Hampers and Stocking Program ensures that seniors in the region will feel the warmth of the Christmas season by receiving a special package filled with things they need.
The program delivers Christmas stockings to long-term-care facilities, homes, senior centres, and those on assisted living.
The program is now in its 10th year.
Program founder Tracy Hawworth started the program and now has several volunteers that help her collect and distribute items.
“We rely on our community to collect new, unused items, for seniors,” Ms. Haworth explained. “We collect items for stockings. We have seniors that have no families that are in some of our facilities. I’m given a first name and a list. We recruit people in the community to become their secret Santas. We deliver stockings to these facilities on Christmas morning. Every senior in that facility will get a stocking.”
For many seniors, getting items they need for everyday living can be a problem. The program helps them gets things that they need but many people just take for granted and pick up during their regular day to day activities.
“We get things like hand creams, moisturizers, deodorant, soaps, sweets and treats, and things like that,” Ms. Haworth said. “I do have a basic list that I put out just to give people a suggestion of what they can get. Quite often a nurse or PSW will give us ideas of what their clients need. It takes a little bit of the financial burden off them.”
Something like a gift card for a coffee shop is a much-appreciated gift for someone on a fixed income.
There will be around 1000 seniors who will be receiving a special Christmas package this year.
The program will deliver the packages to 10 homes and facilities in Orangeville, Shelburne and Arthur. Overstock items or donated items that cannot be used by seniors are given to several local charitable agencies that can distribute them to people in need.
Donations are received until December 15, in order to give volunteers enough time to get the packages ready for Christmas day.
They also accept cash donations that will go directly to the purchase of needed items.
You can find out more about the program and find a list of needed items by visiting the Senior’s Santa website at www.seniorsanta.ca.