Be a Santa for a Senior

Hi, I'm Gwen Potter. I'm raising funds to buy gifts for the "Be a Santa for a Senior" community-based holiday gift drive. I started this annual drive in 2018 as a committee member of Friends of Lisgar Park (FoLP) in Toronto, with the help of some lovely friends and community members.

 

Final deadline for cash donations this year: Mon. Dec. 6, 2021. However, I am hoping to get some monetary donations ASAP (maybe even in the next couple of days, so I can take advantage of some Black Friday sales).

 

My goal is to make the 2021 holidays a little brighter for lonely seniors and chronically ill, disabled, or special needs persons in the southwestern Toronto communities by providing holiday gifts to recipients of the Meals on Wheels (MoW) program run out of West Neighbourhood House (Ossington/Dundas W.). Most of these men and women are over 55 and live alone.

 

Most of the Be a Santa for a Senior drive is focused on having community members donate individual gifts in gift bags that we'll sort and deliver to West Neighbourhood House. However, some people may not be able to shop or may not be able to get to the Lisgar Park area (Queen W./Dovercourt) to drop off their donated gifts. So I've created this GoFundMe for people who would like to donate money instead. This money will be used to buy holiday gifts for as many MoW recipients as possible.

 

The wonderful West Neighbourhood House’s Meals on Wheels program brings meals to around 100 people in need each day in the southwest area of Toronto; during the holiday season, this number could reach 180+ daily.

 

The FoLP “Be a Santa for a Senior” is a tiny volunteer initiative, so we may not be able to provide gift bags for everyone in the MoW program…but we can sure do our best and, with the help of generous community members, bring a little holiday cheer to as many individuals as possible. Thank you in advance for reading this and for participating! Every bit counts. ❤

 

~ In gratitude,

 

Gwen Potter, FoLP Be a Santa for a Senior Organizer