Making the Holidays Merrier for Our Residents

The holidays are a time for celebration, and our communities are feeling the spirit! From Thanksgiving to now, staff and volunteers have been putting on events for their communities to celebrate the season and provide much-needed resources to residents during this time. 

With the help of our partners, we’ve brightened the days of our residents with 1,249 holiday meals, food baskets, ham, turkey and fresh produce during November and December. Here are some of the ways we’re making the holidays a little merrier for our residents:

North Orchard Place, Greencastle of Woodlawn I & II: Pop-Up Pantry

As the holidays approached, our Board of Directors recognized gap areas for holiday meal distribution. Board Chair Scott Meyer sought to understand the areas of greatest need and involved the Board in a campaign to meet those open needs through donations. 

As a result, pop-up pantries appeared at three of our communities to spread a little more holiday happiness, a Thanksgiving-themed one at North Orchard Place in November, and Winter Wonderland-themed ones at Greencastle of Woodlawn I & II in December.

Volunteers, including members of Embracing Generations, an intergenerational program meant to promote building relationships between our residents and youth in the surrounding communities through volunteerism, distributed the food to residents. 

Greencastle of Barrington: Cookie Decorating

We welcomed Boy Scout Troop 288, who visited our residents to sing holiday songs and spend time together decorating holiday cookies and placements. This was also a part of Embracing Generations, and we could see the smiles on both residents and volunteers’ faces getting to spend quality time doing creative activities together.

Castle Towers: Band Performance

The talented Blackhawk Middle School Band performed for residents, bringing holiday cheer through the power of music and getting our residents in the spirit by playing their favorite Christmas songs.

Bethel Greencastle: Holiday Gifts

The Salvation Army in Kansas City provided residents warm and cozy flannel blankets, the Northland Christmas Store home-delivered food boxes and household products to residents, and Bethel United Church facilitated a holiday sing-along with carolers from their congregation to brighten this season for our Bethel Greencastle residents.

These are only a fraction of the stories from our communities of ways the relationships between residents, staff and volunteers are being strengthened through the holiday season. Our residents have been beyond grateful for the support and opportunities to build community. These residents are people who sometimes struggle with food security and loneliness, but the smiles on their faces and the warmth and kindness they’ve shown during this season reflect the effort everyone has put in to make their holidays merrier.

If you’re interested in volunteering with Embrace Living, visit https://embraceliving.org/?sfid=2951