Local Program Brightens the Holidays for Lexington Seniors

LEXINGTON, Mass. – December 3, 2014 – This season, many Lexington seniors who are alone or impoverished will receive some holiday cheer thanks to the Be a Santa to a Senior® program. Sponsored by the local Home Instead Senior Care® office, the program brings together area nonprofits, retailers, numerous volunteers and members of the community to provide gifts and companionship for lonely and isolated seniors.

“It is heartbreaking to think of the senior members of our community spending the holidays all by themselves, without any gifts or any way to celebrate the season,” says Tom Moorehead, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Lexington. “But all too often, that’s what happens when seniors live alone. It can be a really tough time of year for them.”

Home Instead Senior Care has partnered with Courtyard Nursing Center in Medford, Excel Center for Nursing in Lexington, Aberjona and Winchester Nursing Centers in Winchester, The Community Family in Medford, Walgreens pharmacies in Arlington and Lexington and local Council on Aging sites to help with the gift collection and distribution. Residents at Youville Place in Lexington will wrap the gifts. Program officials hope to collect approximately 70 gifts in order to help more than 70 of area seniors this holiday season.

Participating retail locations will display Be a Santa to a Senior Christmas trees until Dec.16, 2014 that feature ornaments with seniors’ first names and their gift requests. Holiday shoppers can pick ornaments from the trees, buy the items listed and return them unwrapped (and with the ornament attached) to the store.

Be a Santa to a Senior trees will be located at Walgreens Pharmacy - 324 Massachusetts Avenue | Arlington, MA 02474 and Walgreens Pharmacy - 60 Bedford Street | Lexington, MA 02420

Program partners and volunteers will wrap and distribute the gifts to local seniors who might otherwise spend the holiday alone.

“During this season of giving, we encourage shoppers to buy a little extra for a local senior,” said Moorehead. “Your gift - and more importantly the visit that comes with the delivery – could make their holiday season.”

For more information about the program, visit BeaSantatoaSenior.com or call (781) 402-0060.

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ABOUT HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE

Founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Lori and Paul Hogan, the Home Instead Senior Care® network provides personalized care, support and education to help enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today, this network is the world’s leading provider of in-home care services for seniors, with more than 1,000 independently owned and operated franchises that are estimated to annually provide more than 50 million hours of care throughout the United States and 16 other countries. Local Home Instead Senior Care offices employ approximately 65,000 CAREGiversSM worldwide who provide basic support services that enable seniors to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. The Home Instead Senior Care network strives to partner with each client and his or her family members to help meet that individual’s needs. Services span the care continuum -- from providing companionship and personal care to specialized Alzheimer’s care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources. At Home Instead Senior Care, it’s relationship before task, while striving to provide superior quality service.