Caregivers Helping Hand Seeks Donations for Seniors

Imagine being a senior citizen in a local nursing home, feeling forgotten with no family visits during the holidays. No one, except the hardworking staff, seems to recognize your existence.

But there is someone beyond the staff who does.

For 22 years, Richedean Hills-Ackbar, the founder of Caregiver's Helping Hand, Inc., and her holiday volunteer elves have been bringing holiday comfort to local nursing homes, residential centers, and senior living facilities through her annual Christmas Senior Gift Baskets.

"When we started 23 years ago, we only had 3 centers. We now 41, including Grand Reserve in Zephyrhills, Florida," says Hills-Ackbar.

Over two decades ago, Hills-Ackbar noticed that not everyone had their elderly parents living with them. Some were in nursing homes without any visitors throughout the year. Hills-Ackbar started nursing home visits with Tampa Bay Vocational Tech's medical department students. They would spend time with patients, read to them, and earn community service hours. Hills-Ackbar also created an intergenerational program for Hillsborough County schools, teaching it at Tampa Bay Tech Medical Academy for three years. The program revealed that many seniors had no visitors due to family loss or distant relatives. Motivated by this, Hills-Ackbar and her team started bringing flowers and cards for Valentine's Day and giving out Christmas gifts in December.

Richedean's mission is to ensure that seniors, especially during the holidays, feel remembered and cherished. Last year, with generous support, Caregiver's Helping Hand, Inc. donated over 3,800 gift baskets to seniors, and this year, with supporters' help, Hills-Ackbar aims to surpass that number.

Caregiver's Helping Hand, Inc. seeks donations and volunteers to achieve this goal. The most needed items include lotions, shower gel, body wash, sweaters, socks, t-shirts for both men and women and pictures for walls. Around $3500 is needed to purchase all the gifts and cards for the Christmas season. Hills-Ackbar emphasizes that volunteer assistance is crucial in delivering these gift bags to seniors in December.

"We need volunteers to deliver and sing Christmas carols to individuals where they allow us to come into centers."

In her commitment to ensuring that no senior feels forgotten, Hills-Ackbar wants the elderly to understand that she is part of a community that cares deeply about them and is eager to provide a joyful start to their holidays.

Our major sponsorship came from the New York Yankees Foundation, who have been very supportive of our Intergenerational Program over the years," she said. "We have volunteers from Humana who have helped with packing and delivering for the last 6 years. The new group joining us this year in Umoja, Inc., a local nonprofit organization," she said. "Now, we need more volunteers to deliver and sing Christmas carols to individuals where they allow us to come into centers."

For those interested in contributing or learning more, please visit the website at www.Chhincvolunteers.org or send donations to 2621 East Lake Ave, Tampa, FL 33610. If you wish to assist in the delivery process, kindly contact Hills-Ackbarat caregiverstampa@gmail.com.