For the past few years, Drysdales’ retail stores in Tulsa have participated in the “Be a Santa to a Senior” campaign, which delivers gifts to lonely and/or needy senior citizens.
With your help, you can make Christmas for an area seniors a lot happier. But you’d better act promptly — only a few days remain.
We’ll let the office that runs the program in Tulsa explain the program:
“Many older adults continue to struggle in a down economy, particularly those who live alone with no family nearby to help provide resources,” said Andrew Garrean, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Tulsa. Seniors have faced a trying year amid the threat of Social Security payment delays as part of the debt-ceiling debate. What’s more, seniors have lost almost one-third (32 percent) of their buying power since 2000, according to the Annual Survey of Senior Costs from The Senior Citizens League.
That’s where Be a Santa to a Senior can help. Before the holiday season, the participating local nonprofit organizations will identify needy and isolated seniors and provide those names to the local Home Instead Senior Care office. Christmas trees will feature ornaments with the first names only of the seniors and their gift requests.
Holiday shoppers can pick up an ornament, buy items on the list, and return them unwrapped to the store, along with the ornament attached. “We hope holiday shoppers will open their hearts to those seniors who have given so much to make our community a better place,” Garrean said.
The Be a Santa to a Senior trees are in both of Drysdales’ retail stores. The store at 32nd Street and Memorial Road in Tulsa has stationed its tree in the hat department:
The tree at Drysdales’ second location at 71st Street and U.S. Highway 169 has been placed on a table near the registers and the front windows:
Many of the items requested by the senior citizens are items of clothing which can be bought right at the store.
You have until Wednesday, Dec. 14, to purchase items and act as a Santa to a senior.
Home Instead Senior Care will wrap the gifts from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Inverness Village at 3800 W. 71st St. in Tulsa. Volunteers are needed to help wrap those presents; if you’d like to help, call Amber at 918-384-0980.
