The people of St. Adolphe have a reputation for rallying around their community, so when Ritchot Senior Services put a call out for donations around the holidays, it was no surprise that the community responded. Now, after the success of their first two years, they’re at it again.
Santa for Seniors began two years ago when a local resident, Carla Dayholos, approached Janice Burnett, the coordinator for Ritchot Senior Services, with an idea to deliver Christmas items to a few local seniors.
“[Dayholos] created stockings filled with a variety of goodies and I was Santa going around town to deliver the stockings to about ten seniors,” explains Burnett. “The first couple of years we concentrated on residents of The Chalet and then we started expanding from there.”
Wanting to expand the experience, the women approached the local pharmacist to see if the store could be the drop-off point for donations. Now that they had a sort of home base, they set off to get the community involved by using social media to garner support and donations. Not only did the stockings grow to gift bags, but the school also provided a donation of fresh produce from their Farm to School fundraiser, and they were soon able to provide almost everyone with a small bag of mixed fresh veggies, according to Burnett.
“We called on the St. Adolphe School also and the Grade Two class handmade a Christmas card that was included in every bag,” she says. “The pharmacist’s young son also made a small ornament that looked like a wool toque that was included in each bag.”
A true community effort, Santa for Seniors really does a wonderful job of spreading joy to all corners of their town. The drive allows everyone to get involved, whether it’s through donating a non-perishable food item or small gift such as hand lotions, warm socks, or large print crossword puzzle books.
“I have found working with the seniors over the past few years that they are so appreciative of the small things,” Burnett says. “They don’t need or want those big-ticket items that we sometimes feel the pressure at the holidays to provide to our families.”
Although Burnett and Dayholos have taken the initiative to get things rolling, they have a board—“Elves,” as they jokingly call themselves—that works with them to put all the gift bags together. After everything is ready to go, Burnett and her daughter drive around the town delivering the packages to the seniors on their list. As Burnett’s job puts her in contact with many of the seniors in the community, it gives her the perfect opportunity to find those in need and show them that they are being thought of during the holiday season.
This year, they are hoping to make 30 gift bags to be delivered to seniors who live alone. Though some may have family close by or even within the town, the still spend a lot of time alone.
“I have one senior in particular that is a very special lady and has lived in St. Adolphe all of her life,” says Burnett. “She has been very helpful in sharing the names of some of the other seniors that live in St. Adolphe that I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting or I am sometimes just unaware of their home life. Sometimes it just nice to be remembered during the bustle of the holidays in even just a small way. It is not a charity for low-income [people]. It is a more like a hug from the community that just says, ‘Hey, we are aware of you, we care, and everyone can use a hug everyone once in a while.’”
