The locations are:
1) Walgreens 1798 N Parham Rd, near the corner at Three Chopt Road
2) Walgreens Carytown, 3520 Ellwood Ave (near the corner of Ellwood and Thompson)
3) Walgreens on Hull Street near Clover Hill High School, 6851 Temie Lee Parkway, Midlothian
Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond partners with local non-profit and community organizations to identify seniors who might not otherwise receive gifts this holiday season. Walgreens has graciously agreed to help facilitate the purchase and distribution of gifts by placing trees and ornaments within thee area locations. Each senior’s gift requests are written on a Be a Santa to a Senior tree ornament.
You can help an underserved Senior by simply removing an ornament from the tree, purchasing the gift, bring the ornament and the gift to participating store’s employee and that’s it! We’ll take care of the rest by wrapping the gift and ensuring that the Senior receives the gift before Christmas.
Touching the Lives of Seniors — The history of the Be a Santa to a Senior program
In 2006, Be a Santa to a Senior volunteers visited a local nursing facility and distributed gifts to a number of residents, including one 87-year-old woman whom we’ll call Mary. She was pleased to receive her gift and thanked us profusely, but it wasn’t until we returned to give Mary another gift in 2007 that we recognized the true value of Be a Santa to a Senior.
When we entered Mary’s room for our second visit, we noticed that the only card on her bulletin board was the Be a Santa to a Senior card from the previous year. As we spoke with her caregivers we found out that our Christmas card and gift were the only items she had received throughout the year. Mary re-read the card regularly to help keep that memory alive.
Each year Home Instead Senior Care® offices throughout North America spread holiday cheer to lonely or financially-challenged seniors through the Be a Santa to a Senior program. This is the sixth year of the program where last year more than 28,000 volunteers distributed gifts to deserving seniors. In the past five years since introducing this Be a Santa to a Senior program, Home Instead Senior Care has helped provide more than one million gifts to 700,000 seniors.
And this year will be no exception, especially with the economic challenges and hardships that many of our Seniors are facing today. Will you join us? Simply stop by one of the local Walgreens listed above to take part in this heartfelt and endearing program.
"Be a Santa to a Senior is a great way to give back to the older adults in the community during the hectic holiday season when many are forgotten," said Torsten Steinfatt, owner of Home Instead Senior Care of Richmond. "The holiday is often considered a time for children, but seniors -- especially those who are isolated and lonely -- need to be remembered as well. Be a Santa to a Senior also is designed to help stimulate human contact and social interaction for older adults who are unlikely to have guests during the holidays."
For more information about the Be a Santa to a Senior program, please contact your Richmond Home Instead Senior Care office at 804.527.1100. Volunteers are needed for gift wrapping day and local businesses are encouraged to adopt groups of seniors in the Richmond area, including the counties of Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Goochland and Powhatan. For locations in other cities, please visit the Home Instead sponsored website at http://beasantatoasenior.com.