You Can Help Bring Joy to a Warman Senior this Christmas

For some residents of a long term care home, the holiday season can seem especially lonely. For those who don’t have family close by or don’t have visitors, it means that they are alone through the holidays and will not receive a personal gift. One Warman resident, Kerry Boutros, would like to bring a smile to the faces of all the residents at the Warman Mennonite Special Care Home this holiday season. She is asking the public in Warman to help with her goal of each senior resident of the home receiving a gift this Christmas to let them know they are special and not alone.

“For me, Christmas has always been a time for reaching out, helping and serving others,” says Boutros. “I have no surviving grandparents anymore so this is my motivation. I want to bring joy to the seniors of Warman. Some of them spend the holidays somewhat alone due to weather, distance or heath issues. I want them to know that they are special and deserve happiness during the holidays.”

There are 23 women and 9 men living at the Warman Mennonite Special Care Home and Boutros says her goal is for each of them to receive a gift for Christmas. She is thrilled with the response so far after posting her request for donations on several local Facebook pages. “The Warman community is so generous and so kind. Donations have been coming in along with heartfelt stories: someone’s parent lived there in the past, they recently lost grandparents too, or their children want to donate their allowance. It has been an overwhelming and joyful few days,” Boutros says.

If you would like to help, you have several options including gifts, cash or even homemade Christmas cards. “People can decide what they would like to donate as long as it’s scent-free and no candy or food due to dietary restrictions,” Boutros explains. “Some people find it easier to donate cash and I do the shopping. If they are low on funds, I have had people donate Christmas cards to give to the seniors. I have also had a few people want to make up a gift bag themselves, which is great!” She truly appreciates all donations and is so grateful to the many caring and generous people in Warman. Helping our seniors is such a wonderful way to give back to our community.

Donations can be made by emailing Kerry at kerryboutros@gmail.com or reaching out to her on Facebook.