- April 25, 2024
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Home Instead Senior Care office has partnered with retailers and community organizations to make sure isolated seniors receive gifts and companionship through the Be a Santa to a Senior® program.
“Seniors faced with medical bills and the high cost of living can find they have little left at the end of the year,” said Mary Beth Johnsonn, of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Palm Coast. “That’s not the only issue, though. Personal needs may become magnified for so many living alone with no one to share their problems.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 9% of U.S. seniors 65 and older are living in poverty and 27% are widowed.
With the support of Flagler Pines Rehab Facility, Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, area retailers, volunteers and members of the community, the local Home Instead Senior Care office will collect and distribute gifts to seniors who might otherwise spend the holiday alone.
The Be a Santa to a Senior program will kick off Nov. 19 and run through Dec. 17. Christmas trees, which will go up in Walgreens stores at 2475 State Road 100, 109 Palm Coast Parkway, and 215 Palm Coast Parkway, will feature ornaments with the first names of the seniors and their respective gift requests.
Holiday shoppers are asked to pick up an ornament off special Be a Santa to a Senior Christmas trees, buy items on the list and return them unwrapped to the store, along with the ornament attached. The Home Instead Senior Care office will then enlist the volunteer help of its staff, senior-care business associates, non-profit workers and others to collect, wrap and distribute the gifts.
“Be a Santa to a Senior is another way to say ‘thank you’ to the many seniors who have made such important contributions to our community throughout the years,” Johnson said. “Helping a needy older adult can bring fulfillment to the giver as well as the receiver – it does make a difference.”
For more information about the program, visit www.beasantatoasenior.com or call 986-1931.
