Saskatoon, SK (Change Location)
Be A Santa To A Senior
For over a decade we were humbled and encouraged by the community’s support. You helped us achieve our goal: to provide a gift and a visit for residents of long term care over the holidays.
With the program ending, we wish to thank all involved who helped to make this program a cherished holiday tradition. Please see below for more information.
Dear Friends of Home Instead,
After many years of brightening the holidays for older adults living in long term care, we have made the decision to end the Be a Santa to a Senior community program.
We thank the hundreds of donors and volunteers who gave of their time and financial resources to make this program possible. Special thanks to Brad Klein and Canada Purple Shield, whose unwavering generous funding ensured a strong start for the program year after year. We also thank the elementary school children who shared their “works of heart” – Christmas cards and other crafts.
Fall brings new waves of transmissible flu, COVID and RSV; we feel strongly that bringing hundreds of volunteers into long term care homes to meet with vulnerable seniors is not advisable at this time of year.
Are we sad to bring the program to a close? Absolutely. However, we have seen a growing number of community groups providing gifts to elders. during the holiday season. This year, as in other years, we have already had individuals and groups reaching out to Home Instead to contribute to the lives of older adults. For those who wish to make a connection with these folks this holiday season, we suggest contacting a local care home to learn about unmet needs in their resident population.
We are exploring options to address other unmet needs in our older adult population in Saskatoon. We know we can count on the Be a Santa volunteer base for future service.
With gratitude,
Karen and Greg Charyna