Volunteers Needed to Staff Holiday Tree at Del Amo Mall for "Be a Santa to a Senior" Gift Giveaway
Torrance Home Instead Senior Care, sponsor of the “Be a Santa to a Senior” program that collects and distributes gifts to needy seniors, urgently needs volunteers to staff its tree at Del Amo Mall in Torrance through Dec. 6. Please contact Farrah Benedict or Teresa McNeil at 310-542-0563 between the hours of 8 a. m. and 5 p. m. Mon-Fri.
Torrance, CA (PRWEB) November 25, 2009
Torrance, Calif. -- As the official holiday shopping season kicks off the day after Thanksgiving, Torrance Home Instead Senior Care urgently needs volunteers to staff a huge holiday tree at the Del Amo Mall in Torrance during mall hours. The tree is filled with paper ornaments listing gift requests from seniors served by the Salvation Army Sage House and Adult Day Care Center, South Bay Senior Services, Beach Cities Health District, Palos Verdes Health Care Center and Inglewood Senior Center.
Volunteers are needed to collect unwrapped gifts donated by shoppers and answer questions about the Be a Santa to a Senior Program, which gives needy seniors gifts and companionship during the holiday season.
“This is a great way to give back to the community and help us remember seniors, who are often forgotten at holiday time,” said Denise de Cock, RN, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Torrance, Palos Verdes and Marina del Rey. “We’re working with over 20 community organizations and local businesses who are supporting the program by offering tree locations, supplies, and volunteers. It’s a true community effort that’s worth supporting.”
The Be a Santa to a Senior community service program, which runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 22 in the South Bay, is organized to ensure that seniors get the items they need and want. Before the holiday season, participating local non-profit organizations identify needy and isolated seniors in the community and provide those names to Torrance Home Instead Senior Care. Christmas trees, which went up in eight locations in the South Bay including the Del Amo Mall, will feature ornaments with the first names only of the seniors and their respective gift requests.
Holiday shoppers can pick up an ornament, buy items on the list and return them unwrapped to the store, along with the ornament attached. Torrance Home Instead Senior Care then enlists the volunteer help of its staff, senior-care business associates, non-profit workers and others to collect, wrap and distribute the gifts. A citywide gift-wrapping day, when hundreds of presents will be wrapped, will be held on December 17, 3:30 p. m. at the Salvation Army of Torrance Adult Day Care Center, 4223 Emerald St.
Torrance Home Instead Senior Care is currently looking for volunteers to staff the Del Amo Mall tree at these times:
Friday Nov. 27: 1 – 5 p. m. Saturday Nov. 28: 5 – 10 p. m. Monday Nov. 30: 4 – 6 p. m. Thursday Dec. 3: 1 – 4 p. m. Friday Dec. 4: 4 – 9 p. m. Those who want to volunteer may contact Farrah Benedict or Teresa McNeil at 310-542-0563 between the hours of 8 a. m. and 5 p. m. Mon-Fri.
Businesses that have donated to this year’s program include Jamison Services Inc., Office Depot/Harborgate Way, Torrance; Kelly Paper and Xpedex Paper, Gardena; Minuteman Press, Torrance; and Goodwill Shredding, Long Beach.
This is the sixth year that Be a Santa to a Senior has made a difference in the lives of seniors. Last year, more than 28,000 volunteers nationwide distributed gifts to deserving seniors. Since introducing the Be a Santa to a Senior program, the corporate office of Home Instead Senior Care and its network of more than 800 franchises in the United
States and 11 other countries have helped provide more than one million gifts to 700,000 seniors.
Businesses are encouraged to contact Torrance Home Instead Senior Care at 310-542-0563 about adopting groups of seniors. For tree locations in your area, or for more information about the program, log on to www. beasantatoasenior. com. To learn more about Torrance Home Instead Senior Care log on to http://www. homeinstead. com/286 (http://www. homeinstead. com/286).
About Home Instead Senior Care, Torrance
Home Instead Senior Care/Torrance provides in-home senior care to clients in the South Bay, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, offering an unmatched level of integrity, trustworthiness and responsiveness. It is the only senior care provider in the South Bay with a comprehensive hiring and training program that ensures high quality care and reliable, personalized client service that consistently goes above and beyond expectations.
Through ongoing relationships with local senior care nonprofits, agencies, medical centers, assisted living facilities and other senior service providers, Home Instead Senior Care/Torrance has become the most informed source for senior care in the South Bay.
For more information, call 1-800-FOR SENIORS or visit www. homeinstead. com/286 (http://www. homeinstead. com/286).
Media Contact: Mary Blake, MB Writing & Consulting Group, (310) 376-3163 or 310-710-2755.
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