London Drugs wraps up third Santa for Seniors campaign
By Mo Cranker on December 17, 2018.
NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER London Drugs store manager Greg Whelpley hangs some specially-marked tags on a tree at the front of his store Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. The group held its third annual Santa for Seniors campaign and it was a busy one, with the group helping hundreds this Holiday season.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker London Drugs held its third annual Santa for Seniors campaign this winter and is just about finished collecting gifts to be wrapped and distributed to local seniors. London Drugs had a tree set up at the front of its store beginning in mid-November covered in tags for people to take, buy the items on them and then return to the tree to be wrapped and given to a senior citizen for Christmas. “This was another great year for us — we had a lot of really strong support of the community,” said store manager Greg Whelpley. “People really care at this time of the year and it’s really nice to see.” The store filled about 300 tags and took the tree down Sunday. Whelpley says the store will accept any donations yet to be handed in but will not be giving out any more tags. “We’ve had the tree up for a month and we’re winding down and we’ll be finishing it up (Dec. 16),” he said. “We’re sending the gifts to AgeCare Valleyview where they’ll be wrapped and then we’ll send them off to a few places. “We’re sending some off to the food bank, we have some going to Valleyview and then we’re helping out with Meals on Wheels. We’ve got their names and they’ll be sent out through volunteers through those organizations.” The group saw so much support for the campaign that it had to get a second run of tags. “There was so many people looking for tags that we needed to get some extra ones — it was incredible,” Whelpley said. “We do this for those seniors in need who may not have family here, might be on fixed income and can’t get out of the house. “It’s for the people who may not be able to celebrate Christmas and we want to show them that there’s people out there who care about them — this is always so humbling for us.” Note: There are two campaigns helping seniors around Christmas time one is run by Erin Turcotte. The other is handled by London Drugs. The campaigns are not affiliated in any way and gifts for each campaign should be dropped off at its correct location. 12
-11
