A gift from Santa will be delivered to about 700 seniors in Halton Hills this year, thanks to a group of Georgetown moms and their families.
Liz Leckie organizes the Georgetown Seniors Christmas initiative that started as an idea posted on Facebook.
“At the time I was looking after my grandmother. I knew the impact of showing up. I never thought it would become an annual thing,” Leckie said.
The financial planner, wife and parent has been spearheading this Christmas project since 2017. The tradition sees residents 'adopt' hundreds of local seniors and play Santa, fulfilling their adorable Christmas wish lists.
“It’s big and crazy in the very best way,” she said describing how the presents take over the entire Glen Williams office that she shares with two other business owners.
That first year, she received more than 100 replies from people wanting to provide gifts for those living at Bennett Centre and Extendicare.
“I looked at my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, and his eyes were wide in surprise (with each notification chime). He said, ‘Just shut it down.’ I replied, ‘You can’t shut down enthusiasm.’”
Instead, she recruited him and his parents to help.
In 2020, during the lockdowns, her Facebook account was locked because of all the activity.
“Facebook thought I was a bot,” she said.
This year, she is still getting inquiries but has no more seniors to match donors with. Earlier this month, when she released the gift tags, each with a local senior’s first name and Christmas wish, all of them were claimed within 48 hours.
“I have people who are legitimately upset because I don’t have a tag for them.”
In these instances, she encourages people to give to the Salvation Army or to another service club’s holiday gift drive.
“I was worried that this year we might not get the usual enthusiasm, since it’s been a hard time economically for everyone with the high inflation, but we actually have 50 more donors than last year.”
The seniors receiving the gifts are from four different local facilities: Mountainview Residence, Amica, Extendicare and the Bennett Centre, as well as some who still live on their own or with family.
Leckie said she always tells the service providers to write down whatever the senior says they want, regardless of the cost.
One year, a woman said she wanted a handsome man for Christmas. Leckie gave that gift tag to her husband with instructions to “go be charming.” He also brought their baby boy, a firefighter calendar, roses, and chocolate to the visit.
“That’s why this works, because it connects a human to a human. It’s genuinely someone helping someone out,” Leckie, 33, said.
Many of the gift recipients have dementia. When they get their wish, “it feels like magic because they’ve forgotten they asked for it. We always tell them it is from Santa,” Leckie said.
Another time, a senior wanted a cookbook written by an American senator. The book got stuck at the border. Somehow the author of the book found out and mailed a signed copy for the gift. That same author has since joined the group as a donor.
"The moms in town are the catalyst. Without them this could not happen. I joke that Georgetown moms run the world,” Leckie said. “We have a really great community of people who want to help.”
Leckie also gets help from business owners and from local sports teams to help deliver the gifts. Some youths return to the long-term care homes after Christmas to complete high school volunteer hours because they see the difference it makes.
“It’s good for the donor. It is good for the recipient. Everybody doing a little bit makes this a great big thing.”
Leckie is thankful for the following businesses that help with Georgetown Seniors Christmas: John El Masarani - Fair Mortgage Solutions, Melissa Therrien - Therrien Accounting, Jeffery Group Real Estate, Harmony Home Support, Monckton Real Estate Group, Beechwood Chiropractic and Wellness and Fisker Contracting.
For more information visit the Georgetown Seniors Christmas Facebook page.
