Everyone deserves to enjoy the warmth of the holiday season, and this year, Anchorage-area seniors who are alone or impoverished will be able to do just that.
Sponsored by the Home Instead Senior Care® office serving Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley, the Be a Santa to a Senior® program provides gifts and companionship for lonely and isolated seniors. The program is made possible by the generous support of area nonprofit organizations, retailers, numerous volunteers and members of the community.
“There are so many seniors, right here in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley that have nothing and no one,” said Hal Keisor, of the local Home Instead Senior Care office. “Through this program, we are able to show them that they are valuable members of our community and that people still care.”
Home Instead Senior Care has partnered with Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska, Providence Extended Care, Alaska Office of Public Advocacy, Salvation Army Serendipity Adult Day Services and Alaska Housing Finance Corporation Chugach View & Chugach Manor to help with the gift collection and distribution.
Participating locations will display Be a Santa to a Senior Christmas trees from Monday, Nov. 16 to Friday, Dec. 11, featuring ornaments with seniors’ first names and their gift requests. Holiday shoppers can pick ornaments from the trees, buy the items listed and return them unwrapped (and with the ornament attached) to the store.
Program partners and volunteers will take care of wrapping and distributing the gifts to local seniors who might otherwise spend the holiday alone.
“We have seen, firsthand, how much this program means to local seniors,” Keisor said. “Without it, there would be seniors for whom the holidays would pass without even a visit.”
You can find a Be A Santa To a Senior tree at the following locations:
• Home Instead Senior Care 440 W. Benson Blvd., Anchorage, AK 99503
• Dr. John D. Frost, Lake Otis Medical Plaza 4100 Suite #302, Anchorage, AK 99508
For more information about the program, visit BeaSantatoaSenior.com or call 907-277-4663.