Cathy Glasgow, Butler County Ford president, left, and Dale Pinkerton and his wife, Millie, collect gifts for the Presents for Patients and Presents for Veterans programs.

County residents can share the holiday spirit by providing presents for nursing home patients and veterans.

Volunteers are collecting gifts for the 200 elderly patients at Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Butler through St. Barnabas Health System’s annual Presents for Patients program. Butler County Ford also is gathering presents through a new Presents for Veterans program also connected with the St. Barnabas charity effort.

“This is neighbor helping neighbor and friend helping friend,” said Dale Pinkerton, a former Butler County commissioner who is co-chairing the Presents for Patients volunteer committee with his wife, Millie.

He said the committee is asking people to donate sweatshirts, sweat pants, patriotic-themed gifts, slippers, gift cards, lottery tickets, pajamas and robes costing between $15 and $25.

The presents should be placed in Christmas bags with tissue paper and dropped off at the Center for Community Resources, 127 S. Main St., before Dec. 13 when volunteers will deliver the gifts. Volunteers then will spend some time with the patients and try to brighten up their Christmas.

“We’re trying to get 200 gifts for Presents for Patients so we can give to everybody at Sunnyview,” Millie Pinkerton said.

“We’re hoping to talk to each of the patients. We’re going to get Santa hats or dress in red,” Dale Pinkerton said. “Some of those people have no visitors all year.”

Seniors living in nursing homes are left out of most charitable holiday gift programs, Millie Pinkerton said.

“That’s what Christmas is all about — helping others. I think it’s great. Most fundraisers don’t target seniors in nursing homes,” she said.

In the future, different nursing homes or personal care homes in Butler County will be selected for the program each year, Dale Pinkerton said.

The Butler Rotary is also gathering gifts for the program, said Millie Pinkerton, who is club president.

People can also participate in the program by donating and delivering gifts to 14 other facilities in the county.

The other facilities are the Allegheny Valley School in Slippery Rock; Amity Senior Living in Slippery Rock; The Arbors at St. Barnabas in Valencia; Chicora Medical Center in Chicora; Concordia Lutheran Health and Human Care in Cabot; Fair Winds Manor in Sarver; The Grove at Harmony in Harmony; Paramount Senior Living at Cranberry; Passavant Retirement and Health in Zelienople; Saxony Health Center in Saxonburg; Transitions Healthcare Autumn Grove in Harrisville; Valencia Woods at St. Barnabas in Valencia; VA Butler Healthcare; and the YMCA of Butler.

Information on how to participate is available on the Presents for Patients website.

Presents for Veterans

Presents for Veterans is a new program that Butler County Ford and other Ford dealers in the region developed from the Presents for Patients program.

Cathy Glasgow, Butler County Ford president, said a pickup truck full of gifts collected at her dealership for the Presents for Veterans program has already been delivered to St. Barnabas and she hopes more will be donated.

“Some of these veterans have no one that comes and visits them,” Glasgow said. “I took a load of gifts to St. Barnabas last week. We loaded up a pickup truck with robes, slippers and sweat pants.”

Donated gifts should not be wrapped.

The dealership also collects gifts for the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots program.

“We’re active in the community,” Glasgow said.