The Joy of Giving
The saying “It is better to give than receive” is one that is taken to heart by Butler County residents during the Christmas season.
Food drives, toy drives and senior citizen gift drives are launched by a variety of organizations and churches from now until the end of the year.
Butler County more than 28,000 residents, age 60 and older. Many will be alone in the coming holiday season in care facilities cut off from families by either distance or time.Many nursing homes and assisted living centers have programs where employees, community members, churches and businesses “adopt” a resident to make sure they have a gift to open for Christmas.Most Concordia Lutheran Ministries locations participate in a program called “Adopt-A-Resident.” Skilled nursing and personal care residents provide the activities staff with a wish list. Then, an individual or group “adopt” a resident and provide a Christmas present.Brendan Kenny, owner of the Home Instead of Senior Care in Zelienople, said his business will be taking its Be A Santa To A Senior program to three Butler County facilities this year: Sunnyview Nursing and Rehab, 107 Sunnyview Circle; Lowrie Place, 100 Stirling Village; and The Grove at Harmony, 191 Evergreen Mill Road, Harmony.Kenny said his business partners with local stores — Big Lots in Alameda Plaza and Boscov's at the Clearview Mall — to put up gift trees containing tags with seniors' names and gift needs in the stores the first week of November. Givers can take a tag, buy the gift and return it and the tag to the store's drop-off box.Gifts will be delivered Dec. 16.Orchard Hill Butler County, 107 Staley Ave., has joined again this year to aid Home Instead Senior Care. Kay Warheit, who's in charge of the church's efforts, said last year church members bought gifts for 65 senior citizens. The church puts up a giving tree with tags containing seniors' names and gift wishes. Members take one or two tags and go shopping.Jody Gulish, director of community and abundant life for Lutheran Senor Life, which operates Passavant Senior Living Community in Zelienople and St. John Senior Living Community in Mars, said the organization's Gifts of Grace program ends the first week of December.Potential donors can call her at 724-452-3534 or visit her office at the Abundant Life Center, 105 Burgess Drive, Zelienople, to get gift suggestions and recipients from her.“Last year presents from churches, staff members and residents of the community went to between 200 and 300 residents to brighten their holiday, she said.St. Barnabas Health System, which runs retirement facilities in Beaver, Allegheny and Butler counties also has a gift program, Presents for Patients.But the program, now in its 36th year, is more concerned with presence than presents, according to Shelli Sommariva, director of development for St. Barnabas.She said the concept is to encourage the community to visit an individual patient in one their facilities such as Valencia Woods St. Barnabas, The Arbors at St. Barnabas, both in Valencia and the St. Barnabas Nursing Home in Gibsonia.She said individuals, families or groups can call 724-443-0011 to be linked to a patient for a visit.“We'll work with them to connect them with somebody. We'll give them some ideas about their interests and some gift ideas,” said Sommariva.VA Butler Healthcare runs an internal Adopt A Veteran program, according to Paula McCarl, the public affairs official for VA Healthcare. Service organizations and churches buy gifts for veterans, many of them senior citizens, in the inpatient program, the community living center and the adult day care program. Anyone interested in joining in adopting a veteran this year, said McCarl, should call her at 878-271-6492.The Butler County Area Agency on Aging said any organization or church interested in participating in a senior gift program should call the agency at 724-282-3008 and ask to speak with Brittany Gilfillin.
Lowrie House, a personal care facility at 100 Sterling Village Drive, will use a Christmas tree contest to raise money for national and local charities. Carol Warner, life enrichment counselor, said Lowrie Place is inviting vendors to decorate artificial trees during a party at the facility Dec. 6.From Dec. 6 to Dec. 16, the public will be invited to come to Lowrie Place, view the trees, vote for their favorite tree and if they wish bid on buying a tree.On Dec. 16, at a party at Lowrie Place, the winning tree will be announced and the highest bidders will be awarded the trees. Warner said the money raised from the tree sales will be donated to the Alzheimer's Foundation and a local charity.
The Seneca Valley School District is organizing the 22nd annual Senior Holiday Event at the Intermediate High School Dec. 19 for senior citizens living in the district.This year's event was modified to be a breakfast event that begins at 9:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast in the school cafeteria. It will be immediately followed with performances.The event is free, but reservations are required. To make a reservation, call 724-452-6040, Ext. 0 by Dec. 11.
Those wishing to donate to youths should contact Karen Harvey, development specialist at MHY Family Services, 521 Route 228, that provides behavioral health programs to youths.Harvey said would-be donors can go to the organization's home page, Mhyfamilyservices.org, and under the “What's Happening” tab is a holiday wish list for the 380 residential and outpatient children and families served by MHY.
People willing to donate items, clothing, food or volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Butler, which runs a thrift store and food bank, can call 724-287-8682, or bring their donations and themselves to the thrift store at 226 Greater Butler Mart.Food donations will be taken from the store to the food bank at 146 N. Monroe St.
The Butler Salvation Army began its annual kettle campaign with bell ringers Nov. 29, said Capt. Darlene Means. The campaign runs through Christmas Eve.“We also do the Treasures for Children tags. It's like an angel tree,” said Means but also includes tags for senior citizens.Trees with gift tags listing gift suggestions and the age of the recipient will be set up in major stores. Donors have the option of taking gifts to the store or dropping them off at the Salvation Army, 313 W. Cunningham St.Means said if anyone would like to have a holiday food drive for the Salvation Army food pantry, they should call 724-287-5532 and ask for office manager Amy Tebay.In addition to the 50 to 60 families that are signed up for regular monthly food distributions, Means said 200 families have signed up for Christmas food baskets.“We are able to use any type of food. What doesn't get used for Christmas will be used throughout the year,” Means said.And the Salvation Army will be having a Christmas Eve lunch from noon to 2 p.m. Dec. 24 at its Cunningham Street location that is open to everyone, she said.
Sometimes a warm meal can seem like the best gift.The Cabot Food Bank at Cabot United Methodist Church, 707 Winfield Road, Cabot, offers a free meal from 5 to 6 p.m. each Wednesday the food bank is open.The food bank distribution hours are 5:30 to 7 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month.The Cabot Food Bank serves the residents of Winfield, Buffalo and Clearfield townships and Saxonburg.The Emergencies Loaves and Fishes Food Cupboard, Summit Presbyterian Church CCO Building, 650 Saxonburg Road, supplies south Summit and north Jefferson township residents from 8:30 to 10 a.m. the last Saturday of the month.The Southwest Butler County Food Cupboard in Zion Lutheran Church, 557 Perry Highway, Harmony, has a monthly distribution from 7 to 8 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month.The Lighthouse Foundation's food and gift drives go on all year but become especially important during the holiday season as demand increases, said Theresa Rodriquez, marketing and grant manager at the foundation, 116 Browns Hill Road, Middlesex Township.Rodriguez said anyone — offices, churches, neighborhood groups — who want to contribute to the Lighthouse food pantry should call Lee Ann Hune, the food program director at 724-586-5554, Ext. 3205, to get a list of most-needed food.The pantry serves between 600 and 800 families a month, Rodriguez said.“We do offer a toy shop to food pantry clients,” she said. “It is not open to the public.”The toy shop accepts new, unused and unwrapped toys for children, infants to age 14, and $25 gift cards for youths, age 15 to 16 years old.Rodriguez said donors should call her at 724-586-5554, Ext. 3203, to get gift card suggestion. The Lighthouse can also send potential toy drive organizers an information packet.
Last year, Butler County Toys for Tots supported 2,280 children.New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at participating businesses throughout Butler County until Dec. 9 when the donations will be collected.Toy recipients can choose from three pickup dates: Dec. 11, 12 and 13, at the Clearview Mall, 101 Clearview Circle, which donated the space through January to the Butler County Toy for Tots, near the Texas Roadhouse.To volunteer, email butlercountytoysfortots@gmail.com.
