NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
Doug Bamford receives a number of gifts from Lindsay Wilson and her kids Gage, Isla and Grayson during a Santa for Seniors stop at St. Joe's. The Santa for Seniors group helped more than 400 Hatters this Christmas season.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker
For some, the Holiday season can be lonely.
The volunteers with Santa for Seniors worked this Christmas time to ensure more than 400 seniors around the city were reminded that they mattered.
The group has been in operation for four years and it has doubled its operating size since its first year. Organizer Erin Turcotte says she is always blown away by the support.
“Every year, it’s amazing,” she said. “We know times are really tough right now for a lot of families, but people still come out and support us every year.
“It’s amazing people always find a way to give like they do.”
Turcotte and her team set up trees around the city every Holiday season that are covered in tags. Each tag has a few items written on it with a name or someone’s initials. People purchase the item and return them to the tree with the original tag, then they are handed out to seniors in a number of homes around the Hat.
“Each tag has two or more things the senior is looking for,” said Turcotte. “We see a lot of things like blankets, toiletries and items from sports teams.”
Turcotte is a nurse and she says the idea for the campaign came to her after she worked a shift on Christmas Day.
“When I worked on Christmas I saw how many seniors were unable to have visits from their families,” she said. “We, the nurses and the staff, become their family and it’s really nice to have community volunteers coming in to spread a bit of Holiday cheer.
“It really does make a difference – there’s always a lot of tears and smiles.”
