Join us this holiday season in supporting Elves for Elders!

The purpose of “Elves for Elders” is to provide gifts for seniors who might otherwise be forgotten during the holidays. “Elves for Elders” is a grass roots community effort that connects gift givers (Elves) with less fortunate seniors (Elders) during the Christmas holiday season.  Guardians (who do a lot of pro bono work for seniors in these situations) and case managers submit information on their wards/clients about items they may need, clothing sizes, etc. Gift givers pick a tag and purchase some or all of the gifts for that senior (others donate money to buy supplementary items). The resource committee of BLS (Better Living for Seniors) spearheads this effort and will be kicking off this year’s Elves at the BLS consortium this week, with trees on every table to collect extra items for the gift bags.

Aging Wisely and EasyLiving have been participating in Elves for Elders for many years, donating items as a team and then taking on a more active role on the committee and as a coordination point for the gifts. This will be the 8th year for this project in Pinellas County and last year more than 500 seniors received gifts such as clothing, snacks, blankets, stuffed animals, toiletries and room decorations.

The Elders: All seniors who benefit must be 60 or older and very low income (Medicaid eligible). Such seniors are identified through local government case management agencies, certain facilities caring for the very needy, and low-income wards under guardianships. These elders have very limited funds for buying items and rarely receive gifts during the holidays.

The Elves: During the months of November and December, the program is focused on bringing in the various requested items to ensure all the individuals’ needs are met. At all times of the year, financial donations are accepted. The money is used to purchase missing items and fill out the gift bags.

The EasyLiving/Aging Wisely office is the north county drop off/pick up location. There are also Elves for Elders trees in Walgreens and Big Lots stores from Clearwater to St Pete. We expect to serve 300+ senior and disabled adults in the community this year. People who want to help can go to a participating store or come by our office, take a tag off the tree, fill a red Elves for Elders bag at the store (with unwrapped items) and return it to the tree. Elves will collect the bags between now and the 1st week in December. Our team of helpers will assemble and distribute the bags before the Christmas holiday.

Click here for the Elves for Elders flier: 2014 Brochure_and_Tags. If you need more information, you can contact our office via email or stop by.

If you are trying to decide on the right gift for your elderly loved one or friend this holiday season, check out our Gifts for Seniors 2014 post and Elderly Gift Giving Guide, for loads of great ideas!

Aging Wisely offers the ultimate caregiver gift…peace of mind! The holidays can take an extra toll on you as a caregiver; let us get you the help you need, assist in planning trips and events or bringing in extra assistance for your aging loved one. If you make a holiday visit and notice your aging parent is not doing so well, call 727- 447-5845 for our Senior Care Consultant…the one call you need to make to access all the help your family needs.