‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ this holiday season

The holidays are a time to celebrate the joy and warmth of the season with friends and family. In Bend, the local Home Instead Senior Care® office is inviting the community to celebrate with local seniors who may be alone during the holiday season.

The Home Instead Senior Care office serving Bend is helping to facilitate Be a Santa to a Senior®, a community program that provides gifts and companionship to seniors who may be isolated from friends or family during the holiday season. The program is made possible through the generous support of Bend area businesses, nonprofit organizations, retailers, numerous volunteers and members of the community.

“The holidays can be a troubling time for seniors. They may feel the absence or the distance of loved ones,” said Todd Sensenbach of the Bend Home Instead Senior Care office. “Be a Santa to a Senior provides a ray of hope for many seniors, and it means so much for them to know that people care and value them as members of our community.”

Holiday shoppers are invited to participate in Be a Santa to a Senior by picking up a paper ornament at a participating location.

Participating locations will display Be a Santa to a Senior trees from Dec. 1-16, which will be hung with ornaments featuring seniors’ first names and their desired gifts.

Holiday shoppers can choose an ornament, buy the requested gift and return it back to the store with the ornament attached. There’s no need to worry about wrapping — community volunteers and program partners will wrap and deliver the gifts to local seniors in time for the holidays.

“Be a Santa to a Senior provides a much-needed boost for seniors who may be isolated, not just through gifts, but through interaction and companionship,” said Sensenbach. “We’re so grateful to have a community that comes together to show our local seniors they are not alone during the holidays.”

Be a Santa to a Senior trees can be found at the following locations:

· Bend Senior Center, 1600 SE Reed Market Road, Bend, OR

· Fred Meyer, Bend, 61535 South Hwy 97, Bend, OR

· Double Tree by Hilton, 300 NW Franklin Avenue, Bend, OR

· Home Instead Senior Care, 296 SW Century Drive, Bend, OR

· Erickson’s Thriftway, Madras, 561 SW 4th Street, Madras, OR

· Redmond Senior Center, 325 NW Dogwood Avenue, Redmond, OR

· Ray’s Food Place, 635 N Arrowleaf Trail, Sisters, OR

· Soroptimist Senior Center, 180 NE Belknap Street, Prineville, OR

For more information about the program, visit BeaSantatoaSenior.com and enter a local zip code or call (541) 330-6400 .