By Lucy Hurley

Home Instead Senior Care is excited about kicking off its annual Be A Santa To A Senior/ Be A Santa To A Veteran program for the 2021 season. This program has been successfully granting wishes for seniors/veterans in the Warren/Hunterdon Counties since 2004 and we are ready to put smiles on more faces this year. Be A Santa To A Senior is Home Instead’s nationwide gift-giving initiative.

The communal generously for purchasing these gifts is outstanding and it is why this program always has a successful outcome. A big shout out to you our friends and neighbors who will be making this holiday season brighter for the seniors and veterans it will touch.

We are all adjusting and finding creative solutions to the challenges brought by the COVID 19 pandemic. I am sure you can understand, we must prioritize the safety and wellness of the community—especially older adults and the staff who care for them. It may be difficult to follow social distancing guidelines in carrying out our traditional Be A Santa To A Senior program.

At the same time, we recognize connecting with our area seniors and veterans this year may be more important than ever. Therefore, we are taking our BASTAS program online again this year. Participants will be able to shop online and have gifts delivered directly to the senior or veteran. We are excited once again to launch this online system to provide seniors a bit of holiday cheer that means so much. This means we will not be placing trees or wreaths in community locations or having community members gather ornaments with individual gift request.

Home Instead has announced for a second time their partnership with the online retailer Amazon to provide gifts to seniors and veterans this holiday season. How the program will work. Generous donors will be able to go on our website Homeinstead.com/325 click on Learn More under the Be A Santa To A Senior icon, enter our zip code, 07882, then pick a senior or veterans’ name on a bulb. The contributors would purchase the gift requested and Amazon will deliver their gift for free to their home or to Veterans Haven North. Please note that Veterans Haven North has requested only gift cards, for the safety of their residents. The program will run until December 17.

We anticipate the Be A Santa To A Senior/Veteran program returning to a more traditional approach in the future and look forward to working with you again for an even stronger impact for local seniors. If you have any questions, email stacy.mott@homeinstead.com or call 908-835-1400.

Lucy Hurley is a Home Care Consultant with Home Instead Senior Care, based in Washington Borough.