Bucks County woman begins nonprofit to bring Christmas to seniors all year long
It's a treat for the seniors and the volunteers too, as they learn that the whole community really cares.
MORRISVILLE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A Bucks County woman is on a mission to bring Christmas to seniors in her community year-round.
Cheryl Campbell is the executive director of The Christmas Gala, a nonprofit that focuses on bringing joy to the elderly, no matter the time of year.
On Wednesday, Campbell and her team hosted a "Surprise A Senior" giveaway at the Morristown Senior Services Center.
"They just want to know that somebody cares," said Campbell, who started the nonprofit 15 years ago.
The nonprofit's programming, however, changed during the pandemic.
"During COVID, we discovered that the seniors, not that they were forgotten, but they were sad, they were lonely," she said.
She wanted to find a way to show people in the community that they care.
"My team decided that we wanted to build bags and drop them off at their doors," she said.
Now that it's safe to gather, Campbell started hosting events in person. At the latest giveaway, more than 70 seniors like Myrna Morales went shopping for household items for free.
"First of all, it helps everybody and there's so much to get. It's free," Morales said.
In addition to the household items, the seniors also got bags filled with gifts specific to the time of year. For example, in June, there received a flag for Flag Day and Hershey Kisses for National Kisses Day.
The gifts are meant to make seniors smile.
It's a treat for the seniors and the volunteers too, as they learn that the whole community really cares.
"Every day I go, I don't know if I can keep doing this because it's so much work and then I get to see what it did here," said Campbell.
