Be a Santa to a Senior – Home Instead Senior Care

Home Instead Senior Care, along with area retailers are bringing Santa and holiday happiness to the lives of seniors. These are seniors who may be overlooked in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and would not otherwise receive a gift or visitor this holiday season.

“Many of these seniors are on fixed incomes and their wants are truly needs”, states Therese Glorioso, RN, of Home Instead Senior Care. Seniors have asked for such simple items as new slippers, warm pajamas, and home cleaning supplies.

“In addition to supplying gifts, Be a Santa to a Senior is also designed to help stimulate human contact and social interaction for seniors who are unlikely to have guests during the holidays,” states Glorioso, President of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Lake and Geauga and Portage Counties. “Since children are often the focus of holiday festivities, we’d like to help brighten the holidays for some area seniors as well.”

Here’s how the program, which starts in the beginning of November through Dec. 15t^h works: Prior to the holiday season, the participating local non-profit organizations will identify financially needy and lonely seniors in the community and provide those names to Home Instead Senior Care for this community service program. Christmas trees are located in local Giant Eagles, Walmarts, Key Banks and Sam’s Clubs beginning in November and feature ornaments with the first names of seniors and their respective gift requests.

Holiday shoppers can pick up an ornament, buy the items on the list, and leave them at the store along with the ornament attached. Home Instead Senior Care will enlist the volunteer help of its staff, eldercare business associates, non-profit groups and others in the community to collect, wrap and distribute the gifts to these seniors.

“This program is a way that we can give back to our community by providing gifts to some of our most treasured residents,” Glorioso said. “Our hope is that the presents also can help these seniors recapture some of the excitement of their childhood.” Last year Home Instead Senior Care provided 1800 gifts for 590 seniors in our local community. In fact Home Instead Senior Care was awarded the prestigious Pillar Award for Community Service in Northeast Ohio! “We truly need your help to make this program successful. If you knows of a senior in your community that could benefit or would like to volunteer please call me at 440-729-5888”, says Glorioso.