By LOIS KINDLE
The South Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce’s ambassador elves are back at it this year, gathering Christmas gifts for the 3rd Annual Giving Tree for Seniors.
As these merry souls go about getting their business, they’re hoping you will help an area senior who needs a little Christmas cheer this year.
“The residents of this community really get into this,” said Connie Lesko, chamber ambassador, committee chair and the effort’s head elf. “They like getting personally involved in shopping, specifically for someone who might not otherwise receive anything for Christmas. Everyone is incredibly generous.”
Giving Tree recipients, who live in senior living residences in Sun City Center, Ruskin and Riverview, may have little, if any, contact with family members at all. For these folks, Christmas gifts from anyone are unexpected.
This year’s list includes Palm Gardens, Pacifica Senior Living, Plaza West, Belvedere Commons, The Crossings at Riverview and Twin Creeks Assisted Living. Each facility submits a list of residents and their specific needs to the chamber for inclusion in the program.
OBSERVER NEWS FILE PHOTO
Lynne Conlan, executive director of the South Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce, is excited to kick off this year’s 3rd annual Giving Tree for Seniors. The effort supplies gifts, generously donated by the community, to isolated or lonely seniors living in area skilled nursing or assisted living residences.
“Residents who would have no visitors over the holidays are absolutely thrilled to receive these gifts,” said Shari Fleming, resident programs manager at Plaza West, noting the public donations help supplement the facility’s own staff gift-giving program. “We truly appreciate them all.”
Marco Cordovez, executive director of Pacifica Senior Living, agrees.
“It’s amazing to see the smiles on our residents faces as they open these gifts,” he said. “It means everything to them and to us.”
While the chamber, its ambassadors and participating residences are important to the program, the public is what makes the Senior Giving Tree possible.
Starting Dec. 2, area residents are asked to take a tag from the chamber’s holiday giving tree and purchase items for the man or woman whose first name is listed on it. The tag includes a bit of information about the person and a suggested gift list of inexpensive items he or she needs. These can include things like hand or body lotion, pajama bottoms or sleeping gowns, men’s T-shirts, cardigan sweaters, after-shave, large-piece puzzles, lap blankets, coloring books and snacks.
What you give and how much is entirely up to you.
Donated gifts can be wrapped, but if they are, the chamber needs a tag or note attached describing what’s inside and whether the gift is for a man or a woman.
If unwrapped, the gifts are wrapped by chamber ambassadors and volunteers. Every recipient gets multiple gifts.
If you don’t have the time or opportunity to stop by the chamber for a tag, you can shop for any of the items listed above and drop them off at the chamber office. Your gift(s) will be used to make bags for those whose names were not picked from the tree or used as additional gifts.
All gifts must be returned to the South Hillsborough Chamber, 1651 Sun City Center Plaza, Sun City Center, no later than Dec. 19.
JENNIFER PETIT PHOTO
Even the simplest of Christmas gifts can mean so much to residents of senior living facilities who might not otherwise receive any. By participating in this year’s South Hillsborough Chamber’s annual Giving Tree for Seniors, you can bring a bit of Christmas cheer to an elderly man or woman.
“The Giving Tree for Seniors is very popular with everyone involved,” said Lynne Conlan, the chamber’s executive director. “We’re very excited to kick it off again this year. “It’s one of the most, if not the most, fulfilling things I’ve ever participated in over the holidays.”
She’s not alone.
“I got involved for the first time last year out of curiosity and couldn’t believe the response,” said Sarah Baez chamber ambassador. “The gifts people donated literally filled the chamber’s conference room.
“It was so much fun delivering them with my daughter to some of the residences, knowing how much they’d mean to their [intended recipients],” she added. “I just loved it.”
In her role as a certified senior advisor with CarePatrol, Baez makes frequent visits to independent living, assisted living or memory care residences.
“I see many seniors without family or the ability to get some of the items most of us can easily access without a second thought,” she said. “Last year, the number of seniors with these needs and the response from the community to help fulfill them was overwhelming. I’m excited to be involved again.”
For more information, call 813-624-5111.
