Local volunteers are brightening the holiday season for hundreds of seniors living in the north.
The fifth annual Adopt-a-Senior program has kicked off for the 2024 Christmas season. The event is a partnership between the Rotary Club of Timmins Porcupine and Plan A Timmins Health Care Staffing.
Organizer June Woodburn says they’re looking forward to collecting gifts for more seniors than ever.
“We’re working together to provide Christmas gifts and Christmas cheer for seniors living in long-term care homes,” said Woodburn.
The program gives participants a wish list from local long-term care home residents so they can buy, wrap, and deliver them to the seniors for Christmas.
Those who have participated in the past have already received an email asking if they’d like to take part again.
“Within two minutes, I started getting the first responses,” she said. “It’s just really positive.”
Woodburn said the experience can be very rewarding when you see how much the seniors appreciate the gifts.
“Their seniors have a Christmas party, and that’s when they bring in Santa and deliver the gifts to them,” she said.
“There’s really no negative, from the homes to the people who want to be Santas.”
This is Plan A's fifth year and Rotary's fourth in planning these events.
“I brought this idea to Rotary, somebody said, ‘I think there’s another group called Plan A who is doing this’, so I said I’d find out who it is, and I did,” said Woodburn.
“I said if anything, Rotary would like to work with you. And that’s how we got started.”
Rotary will be giving to over 200 seniors through the Adopt-a-Senior program.
On top of the individual lists, the program also provides personal care items like shampoo, lotions, and nail clippers, as well as seasonal decorations, pens, and paper for seniors at the Timmins and District Hospital over the holidays.
These items can be dropped off at Lemongrass in downtown Timmins until Nov. 29.
Rotary has also partnered with Lemongrass in downtown Timmins to raise funds for these items by selling bath bombs and Norm and Lenore chocolates.
Rotary has also contacted local grocery stores for donations toward the personal care item collection, and the response has been positive.
More information on items for order and how to purchase fundraising items is available on the Rotary Facebook page.
Those who want to get involved with the Adopt-a-Senior campaign and purchase gifts for a senior can reach out to Woodburn at [email protected] or Michelle Lambert at [email protected].
