Be a Santa to a Senior Program Aims to Brighten Holiday Season for Seniors.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Home Instead Senior Care(R), the World's Largest Provider of Companionship and Home Care Services for Aging Adults, Aims to Deliver More Than 100,000 Gifts to Seniors This Holiday Season

Popular organizations often get the public to think about needy children during the holiday season (and this is very important) but for millions of senior citizens, whether they live in their own homes or in care facilities, the holiday season can be a lonely time. In fact, according to the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, as many as 60 percent of nursing home residents have no regular visitors.

To help curb senior loneliness around the holiday season and to provide needy seniors with some of the gifts they are wishing for and extra holiday cheer, Home Instead Senior Care (HISC), the world's largest organization providing non-medical services for aging adults (companionship, running errands, shopping, meal preparation, etc.) kicked off its second annual national community service program called "Be a Santa to a Senior" on November 1, 2005.

After an unimaginable turnout, the first program of its kind, 2004's Santa to a Senior effort proved to be wildly successful, delivering 96,201 gifts to 52,860 seniors with 7,197 volunteers participating and 723 retail partners associated across North America. This year Home Instead Senior Care predicts an even more successful program. "By far we exceeded our expectations for the first year. And, after seeing the joy and happiness we brought to so many seniors who are lonely, isolated and often forgotten during the holiday season, it was obvious that we would continue this program with a strong determination to grow participation from our franchise owners and the local retailers," expresses Paul Hogan, president and founder of Home Instead Senior Care.

Participating HISC offices (there are 450 in North America; visit www.homeinstead.com) will partner with local non-profit organizations to identify lonely and needy seniors in their areas. Each senior will make a practical wish list of three items that will be placed as ornaments on Christmas trees located within local, partner retail stores who volunteer to participate. "Members of the community will then be asked to purchase and donate the gifts on the wish lists, leaving their unwrapped gifts under the tree in each store," says Hogan. "Volunteers from each local office will collect these gifts through December 19th with a national gift wrapping party on Friday, December 9th. So, if you can't buy a gift, you can instead give the gift of time by helping wrap or deliver the presents." Gifts will be distributed between December 12th and 19th.

"Home Instead Senior Care started this program to provide a way to give back to seniors who may otherwise be forgotten during the holidays or who can't be with families that live long distance," says Hogan. "Nobody should be forgotten or without a gift during the holiday season."

How to Get Involved

Consumers can visit www.santatoasenior.com, where there will be information listing local HISC offices who are participating in the national program, as well as a list of non-profit partners, merchant partners (where to buy gifts) and local contact information if you'd like to offer to volunteer.

"Volunteers can take part by donating gift wrap, tape and other supplies, or taking part in the gift wrapping party," adds Hogan. "On December 9, 2005, each participating HISC office will host a gift-wrapping event." And, with the help of the HISC professional caregivers and volunteers from local community and non-profit partners, the gifts will be personally delivered to the seniors just in time to spread a bit of holiday cheer.

Home Instead Senior Care is a private company that was established in 1994 to help meet the non-medical needs of the elderly. Services are provided in North America, Japan, Australia, Ireland and Portugal. The company employs more than 30,000 CAREGivers(SM) who delivered an estimated 20 million hours of eldercare in 2004. Training includes a multiphased caregiving and safety curriculum that features case studies, information about senior illnesses, stimulating activities, nutritional recipes for seniors, tips for coping with stress, and an Alzheimer's training program, for advanced CAREGivers. Special attention is given to matching CAREGivers with clients to achieve the utmost compatibility.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care or the "Be A Santa To A Senior" program, visit www.santatoasenior.com or www.homeinstead.com.

Note to Media: To set up an informative interview with Paul Hogan about the Home Instead Senior Care "Be A Santa To A Senior" program, or to find a participating local Home Instead Senior Care office, contact Laura Giardina at [phone], ext. 20, or [e-mail]