Volunteering Counts: Be a Santa to a Senior at Christmas: Brighten a Senior’s Holidays

Get a head start on your holiday spirit by encouraging your family and friends to committing their time now to making a difference for seniors living in our community facilities. If your high school students or teenagers still need to earn more of their mandatory volunteer hours, this is a fun way to make a difference while collecting hours?

Be a Santa to a Senior at Christmas: Brighten a Senior’s Holidays

In 2005 and 2006, Barbara Kennedy, President of Changing Gears, was a part of a Halton based initiative called Be a Santa to a Senior. Changing Gears partnered with Home Instead Senior Care, Merry Maids of Oakville and Merry Maids of Milton to ensure that this annual program was a success. Barbara’s involvement with Be a Santa reflects her compassion for those in our society that are often ignored and neglected.

Last year, 1200 seniors residing in various Halton Long Term Care facilities received gifts and hand made cards by elementary school children due to the aid of the committee members, and volunteers. Christmas trees are set up in local stores, seniors’ gift wish ornaments are hung from the trees, and customers are encouraged to choose an ornament(s) and buy a senior a treasured gift(s).

For the 2007 Program, Volunteers are needed for:

Removing a wish ornament from a tree and Buying a gift. By entering your postal code at Be a Santa, find the participating Canadian store closest to you.
As part of a corporate office endeavour, pick up ornaments from Home Instead’s offices and purchase the gifts and return to Home Instead by December 3rd.
Wrapping gifts at the gift wrap party being held on Saturday, December 8th at the Oakville Town Hall on Trafalgar Road in the Atrium in Oakville, Ontario.
Directing traffic at the gift wrap party inside the Oakville Town Hall.

Providing Entertainment at the gift wrap party.

Picking up gifts from stores daily and delivering them to storage facility for one month.

Helping to unload and load the trucks on December 8^th to ensure gift delivery is completed by the end of the weekend to all of the facilities.

Are your high school students or teenagers looking to earn more of their mandatory volunteer hours? This is a fun way to make a difference while collecting hours.

Volunteers are a crucial part of the success of Be a Santa to a Senior. Please contact Tom Chuchmach by phone at 905.847.8433 or by email if you would like to be involved this year in Halton Region of Ontario.

Last year was a tremendous success and a lot of fun for everyone involved. Please help everyone make a difference for seniors living in our community facilities.

For more information, and to search across Canada for a participating store close to you, please visit Be a Santa

printer friendly

Email this to a friend