More Top Picks Best Leg Press Machines Under 1000 Dollars
player ready...About three weeks remain to adopt a senior and participate in this year’s Secret Santa for Seniors program, which provides residents in at least one local nursing home with Christmas gifts they might otherwise not receive.
Brandy Beyer, who runs The Beyer Foundation to raise awareness against senior abuse and exploitation, began the Secret Santa for Seniors program two years ago to help seniors in much the same manner as Toys for Tots helps kids.
“I’m truly grateful to everyone for helping the seniors in our community last year and hope to see a similar effort this year,” Beyer said Monday. “People in nursing homes can be isolated. It’s just sad that everyone doesn’t have a lot of family and get a lot of visits.”
Those who sign up for the program agree to buy and wrap a gift of up to $50 per recipient for one or more seniors. The number of donors will determine whether the program can expand again this year to provide gifts to facilities beyond the Hillcrest Nursing Center in Round Lake Beach.
Last year, the program was able to double the $7,000 in gifts it received in its 2014 inaugural year, and Secret Santa for Seniors delivered gifts to Hillcrest, Winchester House in Libertyville and a facility near Woodstock.
Those interested in participating in Secret Santa for Seniors should visit the Beyer Foundation website, www.thebeyerfoundation.org.
Those who sign up will be contacted and matched up with the wish list of a local senior. Once the participants purchase and wrap the gifts, the program holds a drop-off point and then delivers the gifts.
Last year, Hillcrest administrator Alan Rosenbaum said the Secret Santa program really resonated with the residents, delighting them so much that they were still talking about it well after the gifts were delivered.
Beyer said she was inspired to start the program following the death of her father three years ago.
She said that while her dad was always treated well and had company at the nursing home in which he lived, she noticed many other seniors didn’t seem to get many visits. Beyer said that made her wonder about the holidays and how she could help to improve them for the residents.
The Secret Santa for Seniors program was approved as an official nonprofit organization before Christmas two years ago. Gift donations are tax deductible.
Beyer said that based on the last two years, those who volunteer to buy gifts, and especially those who help deliver them and interact with the residents, tend to want to stay involved.
Antioch photographer Wendie Aull donated her time taking pictures of the event last year and said she plans to continue working as a secret Santa and photographer for the program.
“When Brandy asked me if I was on board for next year, I said, ‘In a heartbeat. It really is so rewarding,” Aull said.
Donors need to be signed up by Dec. 1, Beyer said, as the gifts are delivered the week before Christmas.
Twitter @jimnewton5
More Top Picks Air Tool