West Island ‘Santa to a Senior’ more popular than ever

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It’s that time of year when Christmas trees are front and center of many shops and businesses, that’s nothing new, but if you look closely, some of them have tags with the name of a person and a gift item. Those are not ordinary Christmas trees; it is the work of Alana Edwards and her team of volunteers who lead the local Santa on a senior gift program.

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Seniors have always been close to Edwards’ heart. His grandmother was a big part of his childhood and Edwards is the primary caregiver for his mother, who lives with Alzheimer’s disease. At Christmas, Edwards felt that seniors were getting lost in the confusion of shopping for children’s gifts. Edwards, who has a background in geriatric special care counseling, thought that older people in nursing homes felt especially lonely.

So for a third Christmas season, Edwards, a Kirkland mom, and her team collect the names of participating seniors who vacation in West Island nursing homes. They write an older person’s name, residence, and gift request on individual tags and affix them to one of several Christmas trees at local stores. Shoppers choose a name from the tree, purchase a small gift, and return it to the store unwrapped.

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The response from West Islanders has been so positive that the initiative has gone from gifting 500 seniors in five residences the first year to making vacations a little more joyful for 2,100 seniors in 26 residences this year.

“People don’t always have time, but they have two minutes while they shop to buy an extra box of chocolates or something like that,” Edwards said. “It’s a quick way for people to donate. At the end of the day, they feel good that they were able to help someone else. “

However, gift shopping doesn’t always go as planned. “Sometimes the gifts don’t come back in time,” Edwards explained. “One person, last year, took a tag but came up to say that he did not have the means to buy a gift. Life passes and circumstances change. “

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If Edwards is missing a gift, post on his social network. “If I order men’s size eight shoes, I can probably get a pair that day,” he said.

Edwards first heard about the Santa to a Senior program on Facebook when he misread a post thinking that the Fairview Pointe-Claire Mall had that Christmas tree. The post was for a Santa Claus at a Senior Christmas Tree at Fairview Mall in Toronto, but an idea was born. With the help of family and friends, the first West Island Santa to a Senior was launched in just two weeks.

Tracy Wrench from Dollard-des-Ormeaux participates every year. “I wouldn’t miss it,” he said. Wrench has bought socks, pens, and chocolates. “They ask for such simple gifts,” he added.

This year, there are 13 Christmas trees in 10 businesses on West Island, including Provigo Le Marché Kirkland and Lub-DDO. Pierrefonds Community High School participates for the first time. Café CoCo & Bean in Beaurepaire Village provided a pink Christmas tree for the cause.

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“We have had people who have come specifically to pull a tag and we have had people who have come to have coffee and see the tree,” said CoCo & Bean co-owner Candice Najum. Create a conversation about why they want to help. They share personal stories about their parents or people they meet in residences. It’s nice to talk to people again. “

Edwards said this is his way of helping the community: “When I see something that needs to be done, if I have the means to do it, I will do it. I guess you can say that I am an entrepreneur. “

This year, shoppers have until December 3 to bring their gifts to any location on the tree, along with the name tag so that volunteers can wrap and deliver them to senior residences before Christmas.

For a complete list of Santa to Senior Christmas tree locations, see the Santa to a senior MTL Facebook page or Instagram page, @ santa2aseniormtl .