Secret Santa for Seniors, Tisdale Area program is short on donations ahead of Christmas (Facebook/Secret Santa for Seniors, Tisdale Area)

By Angie Rolheiser

Christmas For Seniors

Secret Santa for Seniors, Tisdale area in need of donations

Dec 18, 2019 | 2:13 PM

Secret Santa for Seniors, Tisdale Area is underway but more donations are needed to make the program a success.

New, unwrapped gifts are being collected at Northeast Appliance Plus in Tisdale until Saturday.

Organizer Courtenay Bondarchuk said the program is hoping to bring some Christmas cheer to over 200 seniors again this year.

“This is for the people who are living alone, who spend Christmas alone in their own apartment,” Bondarchuk said. “Basically, we do it for anyone living in a senior citizen’s home, an unassisted home,” Bodarchuk said.

So far, they are short about 60 gifts at the time of interview on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

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Three or four things are typically given would include items like a blanket, and chocolate, and bubble bath.

The idea came to Bondarchuk in early December of 2015 when she immediately got it underway within a couple of weeks. The first year turned out to be a huge success and she hasn’t looked back since.

“You have got people who used to have a whole family at Christmas time and then suddenly they have one-just themselves,” Bondarchuk said.

The program is not assisted by outside organizations and relies solely on the community support and individuals who bring in gifts.

“It is so heart warming to see how many people are ready to jump forward and donate say $10 or $15 in gifts,” Bondarchuk said.

This year, they are in need of more blankets, chocolates, bubble baths, lotions, socks, slippers, gloves, puzzle books, and gift cards such as coffee cards.

Bondarchuk along with a couple of volunteers get together one night to sort and organize the gifts, which will happen over the weekend. The gifts will then be distributed before Christmas.

“Thank-you to those who have already donated, this has been just an awesome gift that I have been able to do this for the area,” she said.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser