RALEIGH, N.C. – Santa isn’t the only one delivering gifts this holiday season. Volunteers with the Be a Santa to a Senior program are also spreading cheer, and the generosity of Wake County shines as they come together.
This year marks 20 years of the Be a Santa to a Senior program, which embodies the heart of the holidays – sharing love and joy with seniors who may not have anyone to celebrate with for the season. Three-hundred seniors in Wake County received thousands of gifts last year, and they’re looking to top that number this year with this week’s deliveries.
“There’s not a year that goes by that I don’t get choked up when I’m sorting all the gifts because I just picture people picking a bulb and seeing the name and then going out and buying with love and care,” Nancy Foss, the Be a Santa to a Senior coordinator for the area said. “And so just to know that there’s so many good people out there that want to give back, it just it fills my heart.”
Nancy Foss talks with volunteers while wrapping gifts. (Spectrum News 1/Rachel Boyd)
Seniors filled out wish lists for the gifts they would like to receive. Although paper towels and toiletries may not seem like much of a gift, it’s what the seniors requested the most. Each bag has somewhere between 15 and 30 gifts, and no matter whether the gift is chocolate, a blanket or bleach, it’ll be wrapped beautifully when it’s delivered.
“I know that seniors tend to be forgotten, and there’s a lot of great programs for the kids, which they need it, absolutely,” Foss said. “But this is one program that is just for seniors. And I love that. And they get to feel loved and cared for.”
Since the program started in 2003, they’ve given out over 2 million gifts with the help of 65,000 volunteers across the country. Foss said she is grateful for the many hands in Raleigh who step up each year to make it possible because she couldn’t do it alone.
“It’s an amazing, amazing cause, and I love the people that get involved,” Foss said. “Some of them have been doing it for years with us. They come back every year to help wrap!”
Some volunteers from the wrapping party pose for a picture together. (Spectrum News 1/Rachel Boyd)