'Be A Santa To A Senior' program goes on, albeit virtual due to coronavirus pandemic

For the last 10 years, an Alle-Kiski Valley home health care company has teamed with local nursing and personal care homes, nonprofits, community organizations and residents to buy Christmas gifts for seniors who might otherwise not get them.

They’re not stopping because of a global pandemic. But the format is a little different this year.

This year, coordinators with Home Instead Senior Care’s “Be a Santa to a Senior” program teamed with Amazon Business to create a contactless gift-giving experience for volunteers and recipients.

In previous years, the gift giving was done in person.

“It will be different,” said Ann Erdner, client care coordinator for Home Instead Senior Care’s Harrison-based franchise.

In past years, Erdner set up Christmas trees and donation boxes at local stores and malls.

The trees were decorated with paper ornaments that had what the seniors wanted written on them. People would take off an ornament, buy the gift, and put the gift in the donation box. Erdner would pick up the gifts and wrap them before bringing them to organizations working with the seniors.

Erdner said officials with Home Instead’s home office were looking for a way to safely hold the program, given the concerns with covid-19, and came up with the idea to do it through Amazon.

“It’s really pretty easy,” Erdner said.

The Harrison franchise serves the Alle-Kiski Valley and Indiana County.

For this year’s program, the franchise is partnering with the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison; Platinum Ridge Center for Rehabilitation & Healing in Brackenridge; Pleasant Ridge Mature Living personal care home in Allegheny Township; Amber Woods At Harmar Village in Harmar; and Quality Life Services in Washington Township.

Roughly 111 seniors associated with those facilities are participating in the program.

Gifts can be purchased through Dec. 11.

Erdner said it’s important to provide for seniors, especially this year because so many are isolated.

The pandemic caused several nursing and personal care homes to limit visitors to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Even before the pandemic, Erdner said, there were seniors who didn’t have anyone visiting them or buying them Christmas presents.

“I’m sure the facilities would find another way to provide gifts, but I just think that it’s important for us, as a community health provider, to participate in spreading some joy around the holidays,” Erdner said.

Karen Snair, executive director of the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, likes that the program being done online this year. She thinks it will be easier for people to buy presents.

“That takes a lot of work out of it,” Snair said. “It will be interesting to see how that goes.”

Snair said there are about 40 to 45 seniors affiliated with the church association who will be getting presents through the Home Instead program. She thinks there are a lot of seniors who may not get a Christmas gift otherwise.

“That’s why I love that we’re able to be a part of this with them — for that exact reason,” Snair said. “So that we know that those seniors are at least getting something for Christmas.”