No matter which holiday you celebrate during this winter season, the holidays are traditionally a time for family and friends, sharing joy, good tidings, warmth and lots and lots of delicious, fattening food. For many of our seniors, who live alone or in a facility and have no family living in close proximity, however, this time of year can be devastatingly lonely and filled with feelings of disappointment, isolation and depression.
In our continued efforts to reach out to the elderly population in our community and bring some much needed joy into the lives of our seniors during an otherwise difficult time, Comfort Keepers In-Home Care has teamed up with some local elementary schools on a project called Comforting Cards for the Holidays™. Our sincere thanks to Alexis Yannich, Assistant Superintendent for the Newhall School District, and Alberto Paredes, Assistant Principal at Dr. J. Michael McGrath Elementary School, for your help in coordinating this special project for our seniors.
The idea of Comforting Cards for the Holidays™ is to have school-age children create holiday cards using blank card stock, crayon, colored pencil, stickers, ribbon and whatever else their creativity dictates. The kids are encouraged to be creative and to use their imagination when creating their cards, with the hope that each card will be a unique and special gift. The cards will be hand-delivered to seniors living right here in the Santa Clarita Valley around holiday time. For many of our seniors, these will be the only cards they receive.
In addition to bringing light and love to our seniors, it is our hope that this project will go some distance in helping to bridge the generation gap between kids and seniors; encourage the spirit of giving in our kids; and rekindle the true spirit of the holidays for everyone involved.
Myles McNamara is the owner of Comfort Keepers In-Home Care and works professionally with seniors and their families. He can be reached at 661-287-4200.