An Ongoing Tradition – The Berkeley continues to help Home Instead Spread Christmas Joy

By Catherine Campbell

The holiday season with its bright lights and glitter, its festive music and merriment is not always a happy time of year for some people. Expectations can be high to be happy and joyous and that’s not always possible. Home Instead’s Be a Santa to a Senior program is something unique that has been taking place for several years now, and it is happening again this holiday season! It is a program that benefits local seniors in need during the holiday season which can be very daunting for people who are in hospital, have limited means and/or no family with who to enjoy the festivities of the season. It is an initiative to help those seniors who are isolated or financially strapped at Christmas. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of seniors in our community who have no family and are alone. The Berkeley decided to get involved because we recognize the importance of family, support for seniors, community involvement and holiday spirit.

Launched each November from The Berkeley Gladstone with the help of CTV’s Cyril Lunney, Home Instead Senior Care’s Be a Santa to a Senior has become a program that many in the community look forward to supporting during the holidays. We can all recognize the challenges of not having the support of family and friends during the holidays. To participate, people may drop by any one of four Berkeley locations through the month of November to get a gift tag with a special gift idea for a senior. Home Instead Senior Care, along with community volunteers, collect all the gifts, wrap and ultimately distribute them to seniors in their homes and in care facilities/hospitals. A gift-wrapping party hosted by Home Instead Senior Care is always a great celebration to mark the initiative’s successful end. Each year, the mountain of gifts grows, and more and more volunteers are needed to warp and distribute the gifts in a timely manner. Halifax Regional Police do the lion share of distributing the gifts, but it takes quite a team of volunteers to pull off this impressive and worthwhile program. For more information, or to participate in the Be a Santa to a Senior program, you can visit www.beasantatoasenior.ca, call Home Instead – 902.429.2273 or visit one of four Berkeley locations in Metro:

The Berkeley Gladstone – 2633 Gladstone Street – 902.492.3700
The Berkeley Halifax – 5266 Green Street – 902.429.2222
The Berkeley Dartmouth – 35 Eisener Blvd – 902.434.9415
The Berkeley Bedford – 2 Convoy Run – 902.835.6222