Holiday Program Helps Minneapolis Seniors Struggling With Poverty and Loneliness

With so many older adults living alone and in poverty, some Minneapolis and surrounding area seniors will undoubtedly be struggling to make ends meet this holiday season. That’s why the area Home Instead Senior Care^® office has partnered with retailers and community organizations to make sure isolated seniors receive gifts and companionship through the Be a Santa to a Senior^® program.

“Seniors faced with medical bills and the high cost of living can find they have little left at the end of the year,” said John Stuck, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Minneapolis and western suburbs. “That’s not the only issue, though.   Personal needs may become magnified for so many living alone with no one to share their problems.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 9 percent of U.S. seniors 65 and older are living in poverty and 27 percent are widowed.*

With the support of Meals on Wheels, Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, JFCS, East Side Neighborhood Services, Lunds, Byerly’s Pharmacies and Starbucks, volunteers and members of the community, the local Home Instead Senior Care office will collect and distribute gifts to seniors who might otherwise spend the holiday alone.

The Be a Santa to a Senior program will kick off Nov. 7 and run through Dec. 10. Christmas trees, which will go up in (see tree locations below), will feature ornaments with the first names of the seniors and their respective gift requests.

Holiday shoppers are asked to pick up an ornament off special Be a Santa to a Senior Christmas trees, buy items on the list and return them in a gift bag to the store, along with the ornament attached.  The Home Instead Senior Care office will then enlist the volunteer help of its staff, senior-care business associates, non-profit workers and others to collect, organize and distribute the gifts.

“Be a Santa to a Senior is another way to say ‘thank you’ to the many seniors who have made such important contributions to our community throughout the years,” Stuck said. “Helping a needy older adult can bring fulfillment to the giver as well as the receiver – it does make a difference,” he added.

For more information about the program, visit www.beasantatoasenior.com or call 763.544.5988 or 952.345.6640.

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*U.S. Census Bureau;

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb12-ff07.html

Tree Locations:

Brost Clinic
1421 Wayzata Blvd
Wayzata, MN 55391

Byerly's
12880 Elm Creek Blvd N
Maple Grove, MN 55369

Byerly's Pharmacy Minnetonka
13081 Ridgedale Drive
Minnetonka, MN 55305

Byerly's Pharmacy SLP
3777 Park Center Boulevard
St Louis Park, MN 55416

Home Instead Senior Care of MPLS
9684 63rd Ave N
Maple Grove, MN 55369

Lund's Pharmacy MPLS
55 University Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Lund's Pharmacy Wayzata
1151 Wayzata Blvd.
Wayzata, MN 55391

Lunds
3455 Vicksburg Lane
Plymouth, MN 55447

Starbuck's Golden Valley
7802 Olson Memorial Highway
Golden Valley, MN 55427

Starbuck's Plymouth
2261 Campus Drive
Plymouth, MN 55441

Starbuck's Plymouth
16725 County Road 24
Plymouth, MN 55447

Starbuck's Wayzata
740 East Lake Street
Wayzata, MN 55391

TwinWest Chamber of Commerce
10700 Old County Road 15, Suite 170
Plymouth, MN 55441