Apartment buildings along Sheridan Road in Uptown. Photo: Warren LeMay from Chicago, IL, United States / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Christmas trees in stores and senior residences around the North Side are carrying a different kind of ornament this month. Each one has the first name of a senior and a short gift wish list.
The trees are part of Be a Santa to a Senior, a holiday drive organized by Home Instead Senior Care with local retailers, hospitals, nursing homes and senior residences. The goal is to get presents to older people who might not otherwise receive any, and to give them some company during a season when many are alone.
How it works
Shoppers pick an ornament from one of the trees, buy an item from that senior’s list, and drop off the gift unwrapped with the ornament attached. Volunteers enlisted by Home Instead then collect, wrap and deliver the presents about a week before Christmas.
The program is aimed at seniors with limited means or few visitors. Delivery is part of the point. Organizers describe the program as a way to encourage human contact as much as a gift drive.
A growing need
Social isolation among older adults has drawn more attention from health researchers and service agencies in recent years. Seniors living alone, especially those with limited mobility, can go days without meaningful conversation, and the holidays can make that more acute.
Programs like this one rely on businesses agreeing to host a tree and on neighbors willing to take an ornament.
Home Instead Senior Care, a franchise company that provides nonmedical in-home help for seniors, runs the program nationally through its local offices. Information about participating locations is available from the local office.
Dana Ferraro covers property taxes, small business finance and the economy.
