RICHLAND TWP, Allegheny County — The visiting children disrupt Chester Frydryck's routine a little, but he's OK with that.

Frydryck, 80, has lived in St. Barnabas Nursing Home for the past 4½ years. For the past couple, children from a nearby preschool have visited and delivered small gifts. "They certainly bring enjoyment to us. It's always good to see people," said Frydryck.

Although Frydryck is lucky enough to have a son in Gibsonia who visits often, many seniors far from family or friends can be isolated during the holidays.

Fortunately, many area organizations and volunteers are trying to help.

"It's a time of year when you don't want anyone to be alone," said Catalina Loeffler, office coordinator at First United Methodist Church in Butler, one of many churches that helps seniors throughout the year.

During the Christmas season, a tree set up in the church contains names of area seniors in need of company. Churchgoers can take names from the tree, buy small presents for the seniors and visit, said Loeffler. The church will also host a dinner on Christmas where seniors can enjoy food and company. "It's somewhere to go for Christmas," said Loeffler, who said a couple hundred seniors attended last year.

Another program, Be a Santa to a Senior, connects donated gifts and delivers them to needy seniors.

The program promotes "social interaction for seniors who are unlikely to have guests during the holidays," said Michael Lyon, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office in Zelienople.

This is the first year the Zelienople office will take part in the program, which provided 53,000 needy seniors throughout North America with gifts and volunteer visits last year.

Holiday shoppers pick up ornaments in November from Christmas trees at participating retailers to find out what a senior would like this holiday season.

Home Instead Senior Care staff members, senior care business associates, nonprofit workers and others in the community volunteer to collect, wrap and distribute the gifts.

About 50 seniors in Cranberry Township, Mars and Zelienople will receive gifts and visits as part of the program, said Tim Lyon, Michael's son.

Giving a gift is nice, but it is the time given to seniors that is often most important. "We need to support and encourage people to visit seniors, especially seniors that live by themselves," said Diane Stevens, information and referral specialist with the Butler County Agency on Aging. The agency, which offers in-home services to about 500 seniors in the Butler County area, provides outreach programs to homebound seniors throughout the year.

Another network that helps out seniors is the Lutheran Services Society, which maintains senior programs in Western Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia, Maryland and Ohio.

The society will hold its 18th annual Gift of Love project from Dec. 13 to 16. The project gathers volunteers to visit hundreds of isolated homebound seniors during the holidays, said Maureen Huff, director of the Butler office.

During the year, LSS maintains senior activities and programs; adoption services; food and nutritional service programs; Meals-On-Wheels programs; housing for low-income seniors; and food distribution to low income families.

St. Barnabas Health System, which operates retirement and nursing facilities in Richland Township, Allegheny County, and Valencia, is again holding its annual Presents for Patients program this season. The program, which began in 1984, helps nursing and personal care patients through donated gifts and time.

The program matches seniors in in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and New York with volunteers who adopt them, said Shelli Sommariva, a spokeswoman with St. Barnabas.

Last year, 22,275 seniors were matched with volunteers, said Sommariva.

The following organizations also offer opportunities to help seniors:- Butler County Agency on Aging: 724-282-3008- Home Instead Senior Care (Be a Santa to a Senior program): 724-452-6691- Lutheran Services Society (Gift of Love program): 724-283-9002.- To volunteer money, time or gifts to the Presents for Patients program, call St. Barnabas at 724-444-5521 or visit www.presentsforpatients.com.