Santa to a senior: This group packages custom gifts for people in need in St. John's
St. John’s-based project includes seniors in the Christmas spirit of gift exchange
Once a year, on a December night, a small group of family and friends turn their St. John's living room into Santa's workshop, complete with elves, merrymaking and, of course, gifts. Lots of gifts.
This, in a nutshell, is Margaret's Santa to a Senior initiative — a grassroot project that assembles personalized care packages for low-income seniors experiencing social isolation and loneliness, particularly during the holidays.
For Kayleigh Oakley, the program's founder and administrator, motivation comes from a duty to accommodate an often overlooked community.
"People tend to think of kids and struggling families, and seniors seem to be kind of put to the sidebar," said Oakley. "And I don't think that there's a lot of people that fully realize that seniors struggle in our community too, and sometimes they need that helping hand as well."
Seniors have a special place in Oakley's heart, owing to a personal interaction that became the impetus to self-reflection and consequently inspired action.
"One of the nurses had come into the room and joined our conversation, and we got on the topic of the seniors that were actually in that public seniors' home," said Oakley, describing a time she paid a visit to her maternal grandmother five years ago.
"She let us know that a lot of the seniors there didn't have any family to visit them. So the treats that they were getting were basically only what the home was providing to them, such as small things, and that broke my heart."
Oakley said she hadn't realized that seniors living in home sometimes don't have anyone else but the nursing staff taking care of them.
"It's something I could never imagine, my grandmother being at home alone for Christmas."
Sprucing into action
Oakley's newfound realization led her to partner with the personal-care home that year. She put together 25 packages, complete with notes of appreciation, which were then distributed by the nurses to seniors who might not have unwrapped a gift in a long time.
The following year, Oakley upped her game and solicited the community's help and involvement on Facebook.
Anyone willing and able to was encouraged to donate monetarily or with tangible items, including deodorant, shampoo, dentures, lap blankets, crossword puzzles and chocolates. Children too found a way to participate by drawing Christmas cards, often with cheeky stories.
Oakley continues with the formula to this day.
Beginning the initiative in mid-November gives Oakley ample time to shop for the items. Then Oakley and her family and friends — whom she calls her elves — get together to set up their workshop where they put together each bag of goodies from start to finish before getting passed on to Seniors N.L. and Connections for Seniors who, as current collaborators, will help distribute the 55 packages for this year.
The types of responses that Oakley has received over the years have brought tears of joy to her eyes, she said.
"We had one that stood out a lot to me," said Oakley about an email she received from a senior recipient's niece who lives out of the province.
Her aunt told her she had received the care package and she couldn't believe all the things that were inside, she said.
"She said that she ended up putting the Christmas package under her Christmas tree to wait until Christmas Day to open up because she knew she wouldn't have anything else to open," said Oakley. "And that kind of solidified that I'm doing what I need to do, this was what I was meant to do."
The power of a grandmother's love
At the heart of Oakley's initiative and passion is her late grandmother Margaret Parrott.
"Margaret was my very best friend. She was the most kind and thoughtful human that I've ever known. She instilled in me that you always help those who are less fortunate than you, and she taught me that you never know what anyone's going through," said Oakley with a soft smile.
"She struggled a lot herself. But if she knew you needed something, she would give her last dollar if she knew you needed it more than her."
Oakley said her grandmother raised seven children for quite a long time on her own.
"Even though she was told that it was best to probably give them up for adoption because she just couldn't afford it," she said. "She just wasn't that person. So she raised them all herself."
Essential ingredients every Christmas needs
As this year's drive comes to an end, Oakley — who connects with people through the Facebook page of her company, Maid to Sparkle — looks ahead to a future where her project can operate year-round for whoever needs a silver lining amid life's struggles, economic or otherwise.
For her, the secret to realizing the full potential of the holidays circles back to tender loving care.
"It's very important to give when you can, but outside of giving, just kindness or just a smile to someone, having patience with someone makes all the difference in someone's Christmas," she said. "And so, I really think that's the takeaway here, is that if you can't give, just kindness goes a long, long way."
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