Local Program Delivers Holiday Spirit to Local Seniors

The holidays are a time to celebrate the joy and warmth of the season with friends and family. In Lexington, the local Home Instead Senior Care® office is inviting the community to celebrate with local seniors who may be alone during the holiday season.

The Home Instead Senior Care office serving Lexington and surrounding areas, including Medford, is helping to facilitate Be a Santa to a Senior®, a community program that provides gifts and companionship to seniors who may be isolated from friends or family during the holiday season. The program is made possible through the generous support of local businesses, nonprofit organizations, retailers, numerous volunteers and members of the community.

“The holidays can be a troubling time for seniors. They may feel the absence or the distance of loved ones,” said Art Cormier, co-owner of the Lexington Home Instead Senior Care office. “Be a Santa to a Senior provides a ray of hope for many seniors, and it means so much for them to know that people care and value them as members of our community.”

The local Home Instead Senior Care office has partnered with numerous area organizations including the Arlington Council on Aging, Medford Council on Aging, Care One at Lexington, Excel Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, Aberjona Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Woburn Nursing Center, The Community Family and Cooperative Elder Services to help with gift collection and distribution.

“We are excited to have so many other organizations in the community supporting our tenth year of Be a Santa to a Senior,” said Cormier. “Each year, we brighten the holidays for about 75 local seniors through the program, and we look forward to making an impact again this year.”

Holiday shoppers are invited to participate in Be a Santa to a Senior by picking up a paper ornament at Peoplefit Health and Fitness Center, located at 237 Lexington Street in Woburn. The tree will be on display until Dec. 14, which will be hung with ornaments featuring seniors’ first names and their desired gifts. Holiday shoppers can choose an ornament, buy the requested gift and return it with the ornament attached. There’s no need to worry about wrapping — community volunteers and program partners will wrap and deliver the gifts to local seniors in time for the holidays.

“Be a Santa to a Senior provides a much-needed boost for seniors who may be isolated, not just through gifts, but through interaction and companionship,” said Julie-Ann Cormier, fellow co-owner of the Lexington Home Instead office. “We’re so grateful to have a community that comes together to show our local seniors they are not alone during the holidays.”

For more information about the program, visit BeaSantatoaSenior.com or call 781-402-0060.

– Submitted on behalf of Home Instead Senior Care