Ornaments on the Christmas tree at the Melfort Dairy Queen serve as Christmas wish lists for seniors. (Submitted photo/Cassie Davis)

By Angie Rolheiser

Secret Santa for Seniors

Fulfilling Christmas wishes for seniors in Melfort continues in 2020

Nov 12, 2020 | 12:37 PM

The Secret Santa for Seniors program in Melfort will go ahead for the sixth year.

The program teams up with home care to obtain wish lists for seniors that may be alone and in need during the holidays.

Coordinator Cassie Davis told northeastNOW the program is important and very much needed in the community.

“We always think about kids at Christmas and make sure we do toy hampers drives but seniors need love and reminders too,” Davis said. “They helped build our community and we need to make sure that we are there for them.”

The program helped over 100 seniors last year and Davis anticipates an increase in need due to the pandemic.

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“Unfortunately, we have a lot of seniors that are struggling so the need is turning to food,” Davis said. “Sometimes they would love a bottle of nail polish but sometimes they do just need food.”

Residents are invited to take an ornament off the Christmas tree in the Dairy Queen that serves as a wish list for seniors. The tree with the ornaments will go up and will be available next week.

Secret Santas can go out and buy the items or if they aren’t able to do that, they can also send monetary donations and Davis will do the shopping.

When it comes to food, canned fruit, canned vegetables, frozen dinners and microwavable dinners are all healthy options to give.

All gifts will need to be back by Dec. 18, since items need to sit for a couple days before they can be delivered to seniors in the program.

Sadly, Davis won’t be able to distribute the gifts door-to-door like she has in previous years due to the health guidelines in place due to the pandemic.

“We do need to make sure we keep everyone safe, so this year home care, Client Patient Access Services and Registered Nurses will take the gifts to the seniors,” Davis said.

The first year of the program helped around 80 seniors and that continues to climb each year.

Davis will also once again be the toy coordinator for the Salvation Army Christmas Hamper campaign in Melfort which is currently taking applications every Thursday of the month at the thrift store. The number of families in need this year will be known at the beginning of December.

Bins for toy donations will be set up around the community at the Coop Grocery Store, Dairy Queen, Western Financial, and Mohawk Animal Clinic. Monetary donations can be made at the Salvation Army Store.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser