Dec 11, 2018 2 min read

A lot of charitable effort at this time of year is centered on making sure that children from less privileged households have a joyful Christmas and a bumper-crop of presents when Dec. 25 rolls around.

But there’s another group that can potentially feel left out when the good cheer is being doled out at this time of year – senior citizens.

According to AARP, about 25 percent of Americans aged 65 or older live alone, and a sense of isolation can be particularly acute during the holiday season if there is no spouse in the house, the kids are far away, and the ranks of friends and extended family have thinned.

To help fill this gap, the “Be a Santa to a Senior” program provides gifts to elderly residents who might otherwise have little or nothing in their stockings. A Be a Santa to a Senior tree is on display through Dec. 19 at Washington Crown Center in North Franklin Township. The tree is decorated with the first names of participating seniors and the gifts they want. Visitors to the mall can pick out an ornament, buy the requested gift, and return it with the ornament attached. The gifts will be wrapped and delivered to seniors by volunteers.

Be a Santa to a Senior has been providing gifts for 16 years, and gave out about 300 gifts in this area in 2017. Home Instead Senior Care in Bethel Park is spearheading the effort to get the gifts to seniors, along with an assortment of regional nonprofit groups and retailers.

Jeff Shilling, who owns the Bethel Park branch of Home Instead Senior Care, explained that his organization gets a list of “folks who are in need” from other senior communities, and that the gifts can boost the spirits of seniors at a time of year when they – and people who are younger – can be vulnerable to feelings of depression.

For more information, call 412-595-7554 or go online to www.BeaSantatoaSenior.com.