Community leaders join together to help seniors during the holidays
Published 7:00 am Tuesday, November 18, 2014
SPECIAL SNOWFLAKES: Members of the Community Business Advisory Committee decorate this Christmas tree with snowflakes for the fourth annual Adopt-a-Senior project that will be taking place throughout the holiday season in Picayune.
Photo by Dart Spiers
The Community Business Advisory Committee is hosting their fourth annual Adopt-a-Senior Snowflake Project at various businesses throughout Picayune.
The project is designed to assist senior citizens who are in need or without family members during the holidays. There are Christmas trees with special ornaments at the Picayune Item, Highland Community Hospital and the Senior Center of South Pearl River County. The snowflakes that adorn these trees are numbered, with each number representing a senior in need. Those who wish to participate in the Adopt-a-Senior project are asked to take a snowflake and attach a gift card from a local drug store with a minimum amount of $20.
“This is the fourth year the Senior Center’s CBAC is coordinating this project,” said Executive Director Darlene Adams, “I have seen grown men tear up knowing that someone cared about them during the holiday season.”
The gift cards to local drug stores will allow the seniors to purchase over-the-counter medications, vitamins and other personal items they may need.
The identity of the seniors participating in the project is kept private. The donors’ identities will remain private as well unless anyone would like to sign their names with their gift cards.
The local businesses and organizations currently serving on the Senior Center’s CBAC include: the University of MS Extension Service, the Picayune School District, the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department, WRJW Radio, the Picayune Item, First National Bank of Picayune, St. Joseph Hospice, Highland Community Hospital, Pearl River County Emergency Management and the Senior Center of South Pearl River County.
The Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary Council 6872 is also an active participant, donating $350 to the Adopt-a-Senior snowflake project.
Adams is challenging Pearl River County residents to help the seniors, and said that anyone who would like to nominate a senior for the project should call the Senior Center at 601-798-9892. The deadline for Christmas donations is December 17.
More Christmas trees are available, and any business owner who would like to have one in their location should call the Senior Center for more information.
