Be A Santa To A Senior Program Begins in October: Community Ornament Parties Scheduled at Area Senior Centers

Local Senior Care Company, Area Agencies and Retailers Play Santa to Overlooked Seniors: Community help Needed

A local senior care company, along with area retailers and seniorcare agencies, are bringing Santa to the lives of seniors who may have been overlooked in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

Three area offices of Home Instead Senior Care® in Oakland County, Michigan, the world’s largest provider of non-medical home care and companionship for seniors, have teamed with dozens of regional senior care providers and all Oakland County National City Bank branches and ACO Hardware stores to provide presents to seniors who otherwise might not receive a gift this holiday season. 

Jeri Edwards, coordinator of customer service and operations assistant for ACO Hardware emphasized, “We are excited that we can now give back to seniors who have been our customers for all of these years.  We’ve been in business in Michigan for over sixty years, and many of those who will benefit from this program are, or were at one time, our customers.” 

“In addition to supplying gifts, Be a Santa to a Senior^® is also designed to help stimulate human contact and social interaction for seniors who are unlikely to have guests during the holidays,” said Bert Copple, Director of Community Relations for two of the Home Instead offices serving Oakland County.  “Since children are often the focus of holiday festivities, we’d like to help brighten the holidays for some area seniors as well.”

Here’s how the program, which runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 7, works:  Prior to the holiday season, the participating local non-profit organizations identify financially challenged and lonely seniors in the community and provide those names to Home Instead Senior Care for this community service program.  Christmas trees and collection boxes, which will go up in all Oakland County National City banks and ACO Hardware stores on November 1, will feature ornaments with the first names of seniors and their respective gift requests.

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September Veteran’s Roundtables: South Lyon, Milford, and Wixom – Michigan

In South Lyon…The South Lyon Senior Center Veteran’s Roundtable, sponsored by Home Instead Senior Care, will be held on Thursday, September 20, 2007 starting at 12:30 p.m.  Garth Wooten, the Veteran’s Benefit Coordinator Supervisor from the Oakland County Veteran’s Affairs office in Walled Lake will be the guest speaker, offering insight on how veterans can better access medical and prescription drug benefits.  U.S. Army veteran Bert Copple will moderate the discussion and begin to develop a school campaign to make veterans available for classroom discussions on the past and present wars of the United States.  Lunch is provided for those who RSVP by calling 248-573-8175.

In Milford…Last month the attendees of the Veteran’s Roundatble of Milford were asked to bring in pictures of themselves during their enlistment.  This month, through their partnership with Home Instead Senior Care, these veteran’s will have personalized stationary with their photos on it.  “They’ll be asked to write a letter to two to a soldier currently deployed to Iraq serving with the 3^rd Squadron, 7^th U.S. Cavalry out of Fort Stewart, Georgia,” says U.S. Army Veteran Bert Copple, the moderator for the Oakland County Veteran’s Roundtable, and the Director of Community Relations for Home Instead Senior Care.

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