Gift Drive Melts Away Isolation for Seniors

The holiday season usually means good times with family, friends and loved ones, sharing gifts and stories. But for some, it can be the loneliest time of the year.

Many home-bound seniors in Morton Grove and the Chicagoland area spend the holidays as well as the majority of the year in isolation. Fortunately, for the past 30 years, Resurrection Health Care’s Homebound Elderly Program in Morton Grove has been providing these seniors with companionship, comfort and food during the holiday season with an annual gift drive.

Embarking upon its 11th year, the Resurrection Homebound Elderly Program Gift Drive gives people the opportunity to help out 55 seniors by donating a or Jewel gift card worth $15 or $20 dollars - giving patients a little cheer during the holidays.

“A lot of the volunteers, or myself, would use these gift cards to get them some extra food or something nice from the grocery store,” said Resurrection Health Care Volunteer Supervisor Riley Trimm. “Just giving them that little ease, or small ease of expenses that they have each month.”

Trimm has been a volunteer with Resurrection for just over a year, visiting seniors throughout the area weekly and helping them with everything from reading mail to buying groceries. Once a month Resurrection also sends a nurse as well as a social worker to senior’s homes to check on them.

“Most of these patients are isolated seniors with low to no income and we provide these services for no charge,” he said.

A lot of patients are solely surviving financially on a Social Security check, which can run as little as $400 a month. While Resurrection is always looking for volunteers to share their time or donations, Trimm stressed the importance of giving during the holidays.

“This is the time when families usually come together. And now that most (homebound senior's) friends or family have died or don’t live anywhere close, they don’t get to see them,” Trimm said. “When we go in their homes and share our time with them it just gives them the sense that people do care.”

Along with these visits, this holiday season every patient will receive a gift, a Christmas card as well as additional gifts through Resurrection’s “Pluck a Feather” program. That includes a hearty Christmas meal delivered to their homes from Ann Sather restaurant in Chicago, which seniors also received on Thanksgiving.

Resurrection is also looking for volunteers to make a friendly visit to deliver those gifts to seniors. Information on how to donate gift cards as well as how to become a friendly visitor can be found on Resurrection’s website at www.reshealth.org/sub_homecare. Even if it’s not during the holidays, volunteers are always needed.

“If they just wanted to volunteer, but maybe they are too busy during the holiday season, we are always looking for those friendly volunteers to check on our seniors and to go out to support the program,” said Resurrection Health Care Marketing Manager Kristy Lockhart.

Trimm and Lockhart agreed that many home-bound seniors appreciate the fact of simply knowing someone is thinking about them or just their to talk. 

“When you are this consistent force of smiling with them, having good conversation with them, helping them work on projects, reaching out … I haven’t really thought about it for me, but it has been a rewarding experience to see that sense of isolation just dissipate,” Trimm said. 

For more information, visit Resurrection Homebound Elderly Program.