Seniors in retirement and long term care homes across Chatham-Kent were given the gift of some holiday cheer this Christmas, thanks to the generosity of local residents.
Organizers of the annual Santa for Seniors campaign say 1846 holiday greeting cards and 972 gift boxes were delivered just before Christmas.
A Boston Pizza fundraiser brought in $850 for the cause and local residents and businesses contributed thousands of dollars in donations. A team of almost two dozen volunteer “elves” worked behind the scenes to sanitize, sort, wrap and deliver gifts and cards to seniors in need.
The campaign was first launched in 2020 as a way to support seniors who may have felt lonely and isolated during the pandemic. The first fundraiser brought in over 5800 greeting cards and a little over 800 gifts for local seniors. Last year, more than 1300 gifts and 3500 greeting cards were collected.
