'Be a Santa to a Senior' program kicks off the holiday season | Community Spirit

The Be a Santa to a Senior program is once again active in Southern Arizona.  This is a special program sponsored by Home Instead Senior Care in partnership with several local retailers and community organizations; all to make sure isolated seniors receive gifts and companionship throughout the holiday season.

“Seniors faced with medical bills and the high cost of living can find they have little left at the end of the year,” said Scott Ehrsam owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Greater Tucson and Green Valley, in a recent news release. “That’s not the only issue, though. Personal needs may become magnified for so many living alone with no one to share their problems.”

Nine percent of seniors (those 65 and older) living in the U.S. are living in poverty and 27 percent are widowed, that is according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

It will be with the help of several area retailers, volunteers and community members that the Home Instead Senior Care local office will collect and distribute gifts to seniors who be spending this holiday season alone.

The local Be a Santa to a Senior program kicked off on November 19, but will run through December 17, so there is still plenty of time.  Christmas trees are set up at the following locations:

• K-Mart, 7055 E. Broadway Blvd.
• Déco - Art for Living, 2612 E. Broadway Blvd.
• Rocco’s Little Chicago Pizzeria, 2707 E. Broadway Blvd.
• Home Instead Senior Care, 3208 N. Tucson Blvd

Each will have a tree filled with ornaments bearing the first names of the seniors and their respective gift requests.

The process to become a ‘Santa’ is simple – shoppers are asked to pick and ornament off the specially decorated trees, purchase the items on the list and then turn the unwrapped item back to the store.  It will be the responsibility of the local Home Instead Senior Care office and all of their volunteers to collect, wrap and distribute the gifts to the seniors.

“Be a Santa to a Senior is another way to say ‘thank you’ to the many seniors who have made such important contributions to our community throughout the years,” Ehrsam said, in the same news release. “Helping a needy older adult can bring fulfillment to the giver as well as the receiver – it does make a difference,” he added.

For more information about the program, visit www.beasantatoasenior.com or call 520-770-9943.