Holiday Program Helps Mississauga Seniors Struggling With Poverty and Loneliness
Mississauga: 11/26/2012 Be a Santa to a Senior, the popular campaign that in the last 3 years delivered more than 900 gifts to needy seniors in Mississauga, is being planned again this holiday season as older adults continue to face poverty and loneliness.
The area office of the Home Instead® network, the world’s largest provider of non-medical in-home care and companionship services for older adults, is joining The Alzheimer Society of Peel and Trillium Hospital and The Mississauga Seniors Centre and Shoppers Home Health Care to provide gifts and companionship to seniors who otherwise might not receive either.
“Seniors faced with medical bills and the high cost of living can find they have little left at the end of the year,” said Greg Bechard, owner of the Home Instead office serving Mississauga. “That’s not the only issue, though. Personal needs may become magnified for so many living alone with no one to share their problems.”
Here’s how to help these struggling seniors: Pick up ornaments with the first names of seniors and their gift requests from Christmas trees, which will be up at The Mississauga Seniors Centre and Shoppers Home Health Care on November 16th through December 10th. Buy items on the list and return them unwrapped to the store, along with the ornaments attached. A community gift-wrapping event, when hundreds of the presents will be wrapped, will be held December 14th.
“Helping a needy older adult can bring fulfillment to the giver as well as the receiver – it does make a difference,” Bechard said.
Last year, Home Instead franchises across the GTA delivered over 6000 gifts to regional seniors and hope to surpass that number this year. To kick-off the event, franchise owners are asking media to join them for a morning of fun activities, food and beverages.
For more information about the program, visit BeaSantatoaSenior.ca or call (905) 276-2273.
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Mississauga.com: It's a wrap for Be a Santa to a Senior
