Warm gifts let patients know community cares
Services to Seniors would like to thank the members of the community who made donations to the Gift of Warmth program that they participated in this year.
A hand knit scarf donated to Gift of Warmth
The program, which is in its first year and a collaborative effort between Services to Seniors, the Interlake-Eastern Health Foundation and the dialysis units, gives patients at the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority(IERHA) renal unit at Selkirk General Hospital, as well as Gimli Hospital, gifts of items to keep them toasty and comfortable.
Services to Seniors were connected to the program when IERHA staff members asked if they knew someone who might be willing to put on a Santa suit and spread some cheer at the hospital’s renal unit.
“We said, oh yeah, for sure. We can try to reach out and see what we can do,” said Colleen Larocque, Resource Coordinator at Services to Seniors.
As they had a person who had done the job before, securing a jolly helper wasn’t hard. They also decided that it would add to the fun if they also had some small gifts for each of the dialysis patients.
“I thought, Oh my gosh, we’re a nonprofit; what are we going to do here. We first reached out to our local Gordon Howard here and asked them if they had any extra knitting. Right away, they had us meet with their knitting group there, and we expressed to them what we were doing. And right away they were like, let us see what we can do,” said Larocque.
Next, they decided to put out the call on their Facebook page, and like the Gordon Howard Centre members, community members were quick to step up.
“The pouring in of support was just insane. The donations were just amazing. We had people from everywhere coming in with bags of stuff. There were crocheted hats and mitts and scarves, brand new wrapped blankets. It’s been very overwhelming. It’s great to see,” said Larocque.
With all of the support they received, they quickly had enough donations for all 45 patients, and the items were wrapped and ready to be given out. They even had a little extra that they plan to give to some people that they know are in need, and, if they have any left over, people visiting the soup kitchen. They have made a commitment that all of the items will be given to someone who needs the warmth this winter.
Jayme Anderson, Community Resource Coordinator at Services to Seniors, explained that this was a natural extension of what they do at Services to Seniors.
“Helping people in need is the basis of our services to seniors. As soon as they(the IERHA staff) walked in, me and Colleen were just overjoyed to do something different. And we both love Christmas, so it was just adding what we normally do, and then adding a little Christmas touch to it,” said Anderson.
Because dialysis is a process that requires people to come back to the hospital very regularly for treatments, patients can end up spending quite a bit of time away from home, and something to keep warm in winter is never a bad gift in the Interlake.
The gifts were given out last week, and Anderson and Larocque were looking forward to it.
They also hope that the people who donated might have learned a little bit about Services to Seniors in the process, and if they or a friend or family member ever need a helping hand, they know that Services to Seniors is a resource in our community.
Some of the programs that they offer are a driver escort program for medical rides, a shopping assist program and Meals on Wheels. But they can also help with the little bumps that we all have to figure out.
“If people get mail and they’re not understanding different things that they’re receiving when it comes to, like the government or what grants and different things are out there, we always try to keep up to date on everything. We’re always willing to help people fill out applications or grant applications, or even just come over and have a cup of coffee,” said Anderson.
If you would like to learn more about the programs that Services to Seniors provides, you can check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com, their website at selkirkseniors.com or give them a call at 1-204-785-2737.
They are also always looking for volunteers, particularly for their medical ride service and Meals on Wheels, so if that’s something that might interest you, give them a call to learn more.
