AN UPPERMILL-BASED home care company has thanked the community for getting behind their ‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ initiative – helping provide 200 gifts for the elderly at Christmas.
The company joined forces with Tesco to deliver the heart-warming scheme across the borough and invited the public to donate gifts to be wrapped and handed out todeserving older people.
And after an overwhelming response, the scheme’s organiser Mick Sheehan, who runs the Home Instead Senior Care Oldham and Saddleworth branch, thanks the public for their kindness. 
He said: “I would like to thank the generous members of our community who donated a fantastic total of 200 gifts to older people in Oldham and Saddleworth as part of our ‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ gift-giving scheme.
“We are really pleased with the way in the local community embraced this project and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who got involved and made it such a success.
“We had help from numerous local retailers and organisations. Tesco encouraged our community to buy and donate a gift and then Age UK, Strachan’s and Co-op pharmacies and Keyring charity helped distribute them to local older people across Oldham and Saddleworth.
“We cannot thank everyone who got involved enough.
“As a provider of care to older people in their own homes, we know our clients receive regular companionship from their caregivers but we felt that through ‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ we could also reach out to the many older people who perhaps don’t receive as many visitors as our clients and who would really appreciate knowing that local people were thinking about at Christmas time.
“Through Be a Santa to a Senior we feel we have been able to make a real difference to the lives of older people across the local area.”
‘Be a Santa to a Senior’ was launched in the United States in 2006 and, to date, the initiative has helped provide 1.2 million gifts to more than 700,000 older people.
Home Instead, a nationwide company, offers tailored services for older people seven days a week including companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, medication reminders, shopping and errands.
For more information about Home Instead, ring them on 01475 874566 or visit their website www.homeinstead.co.uk/oldham. You can visit their office at 113-115 High Street, Uppermill, on the first floor above the former Spar shop.
You must be logged in to post a comment.