'A Christmas to Remember' volunteers Sandy Crawford and Barb Stovsz look over tags decorated on a tree in the Unison at Veiner Centre. Staff are asking residents to adopt a tag and purchase a gift for a senior in need this Holiday Season.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
The Holidays can be a difficult time for seniors in the community who don’t have family members to celebrate with.
That’s why staff and volunteers at the Unison at Veiner Centre are hosting several events this month to spread the Holiday joy.
They have decorated a Christmas tree located in the main entrance with several tags that have seniors’ names on them. They are asking members of the community to drop by and adopt a tag to purchase a gift for a senior in need.
Staff are also asking members of the community to create a Holiday card with a hand written Holiday message for a senior who may not receive a card this season.
“Everybody loves to receive a card” says Cori Fischer, director of the Unison at Veiner Centre. “Whether it’s homemade cards, you know the kids are making them, those are always well received. Or whether someone is just dropping off a couple of Christmas cards with some kind words in them that we can distribute to some of our seniors in the community.”
The centre is also getting set to host its annual Christmas party and turkey dinner on Dec.15. Students from Nature’s Way Preschool have been invited to the party to decorate Holiday cookies with the seniors.
“Just an opportunity for some of our members to be able to interact with some very young children. Because that’s always so much fun” explains Fischer.
This month the Veiner Centre is also committed to raising funds to help fight food insecurity, elder abuse and mental health issues.
The goal is to raise $10,0000 to continue running the Help for the Holidays campaign.
“We know that a high number of our seniors are living in social isolation,” says Fischer. “And we know the more that they’re isolated, the bigger the risk of them developing depression, as well as some physical illnesses that can be caused by depression.
“Christmas can be an even bigger challenge, because this is the time of year where everyone is talking about spending time with friends and family. And the whole connection of Christmas and sharing the love. If someone is isolated and doesn’t have someone to spend Christmas with, this can become a time where there is more depression, there’s more sadness.”
Fischer explains the significance of providing each senior with a variety of activities to make sure no one feels alone for the Holidays.
“Really important for us that we’re offering all kinds of opportunities for people to come down and join us, or that we’re reaching out to them in their homes and providing them with some kind of support there as well.” says Fischer.
Staff at the Veiner Centre will be celebrating their 155 volunteers with an appreciation dinner on Saturday night.
