With the holiday season just around the corner, now is the perfect time to share ways in which you can help bring cheer to our most vulnerable population residing in long term care homes.

1. ‘Adopt a Senior’/‘Be A Santa to a Senior’ initiatives:  It’s simple: you can connect with your local ‘Adopt a Senior’ group (or create your own!) to be anonymously matched up with a local senior. The senior fills out a wish list of a few items they would like to receive for the holiday season. You will then receive the wish list, purchase the items, and drop it off to be wrapped by volunteers. There are many different variations of this initiative that can include visiting a participating business and choosing a gift tag from a Christmas tree and purchasing items from the gift tag or making a monetary donation for gifts to be purchased. Whichever way you choose to tackle this initiative, you’ll be sure to make a senior smile.
2. ‘Socks for Seniors’: A quick Google search should point you in the direction of a local establishment participating in this initiative. One of our Plan A locations placed a box at their office and encouraged their community (with the help of social media) to help our most vulnerable by donating new skid-free socks to seniors in LTC.
3. Volunteering: The holiday season can be a lonely time for seniors in LTC homes without families nearby. Consider contacting one of the LTC homes in your community for various ways to volunteer, such as assisting with various events, leading or participating in a program/activity or visiting one-on-one with a resident…the possibilities are endless! Please ensure you connect with the home prior to stopping in, as each home has their own process to become a trusted volunteer.
4. Lend your talent & expertise: If you are a health care professional, consider joining The A Team to pick up a few extra shifts around the holidays. When you join our team, you’ll receive notifications when shifts are available, allowing you to pick and choose the shifts that work around your schedule. If you’re already a member of our team, consider picking up additional shifts during this busy season, as our LTC partners and their staff could really use the extra support.
5. Send Christmas cards: Growing up, you probably remember the excitement you felt when you received mail. Why not extend that exact same feeling to our seniors? If you have a few blank Christmas cards to spare, mail them out to some unexpected recipients! Write positive quotes, well wishes, or even a short story. Search for long term care homes in your community (and beyond!) and mail them out in batches addressed to the home(s).