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One in five of our senior neighbors either live alone, are homebound, or are on a fixed income and often cannot provide themselves with the things they need. 

The Santa for Seniors program works to reverse that by honoring and recognizing our seniors as vital members of our community. Our program reignites the joy of the holidays and connects our seniors with the community. We work with partners throughout the Pacific Northwest to bring much needed and meaningful gifts year round and to provide resources to isolated seniors.

We not only bring joy and celebration to our seniors, we build community awareness and gather people around our seniors to build a bridge between generations. We partner with local organizations and minority businesses to provide comforting gifts or baked goods throughout the year. We foster awareness and intergeneration connection with our Time to Talk project and card and ornament decorating activities. The cards and ornaments made by children and youth brighten our seniors’ day. Elementary schools, various clubs, and youth groups, have joined us in item drives, gift assemblies, and events such as the Tacoma Santa Parade.

Make a Card and/or Decorate an Ornament for a Senior

Looking for a creative and fun way to help our community?

Santa for Seniors collects homemade cards, letters, artwork and ornaments to give to our isolated seniors. This is a simple way to cheer up someone’s day and let them know they are in people’s hearts and minds throughout the year and holiday season.

We can provide card-making kits and ornament kits if you need supplies. Blank greeting cards for seniors to give their own are also appreciated. Email [email protected] for more information.

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Looking for ways to get more involved? Join our Merry Makers volunteer group that uses their own crafting skills and materials to make cards for seniors on an ongoing basis. We’re excited about our collaboration with the Merry Makers who are a virtual group of card makers who make Christmas, birthday and get-well cards for charitable organizations primarily focusing on seniors. In 2023, they created over 6,600 Christmas cards that were distributed to Santa for Seniors recipients and 3,000 cards for recipients of Meals on Wheels in Skagit, Island, Snohomish, King, Kitsap and Pierce Counties.

For more information about getting involved, email [email protected]. Stay tuned for upcoming workshops and events.

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The 2020 pandemic exposed the negative impact isolation can have on people of all ages. One-fourth of seniors are similarly isolated on a regular basis while nearly half of our Northwest seniors report chronic loneliness. Many seniors lack the resources to stay active in their communities. The loneliness is devastating and physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing. Seniors in our community need our support more than ever. We provide gifts throughout the year, building a bridge to the services and connection our seniors need, but we need your help!

Ways you can help are:

• Volunteer
• Make a Donation
• Donate to our Wish List
• Host an Item Drive
• Make Cards and/or Ornaments (kits provided upon request)
• Inquire about our seasonal projects including origami butterflies and sun catchers

Visit Volunteer Opportunities to inquire about in person opportunities (individual and small groups) and other ways to volunteer. Questions? Please call us at 253-722-5684 or email [email protected].

Santa for Seniors relies on people like you to help share the spirit of the holidays with our senior neighbors. Whether it’s assembling gift bags, delivering gifts, dressing up as Santa or an elf, donating, or hosting an item drive, we have many options for individuals, families, groups and corporations to get involved.

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Assemble gift bags
• Be Santa or Santa’s Elves (inquire)
• Participate in the Tacoma Santa Parade (December)

Corporate Opportunities:

• Donate overstock or undamaged returns
• Provide a gift card
• Organize a corporate volunteer activity
• Advertise with swag
• Become a corporate sponsor

Donations Accepted:

• Make a donation from our Wish List
• Donate money
• Host an item drive
• Become a corporate sponsor by donating items to our senior neighbors. Contact us!

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Santa for Seniors started with the vision of William Looney. 

While visiting his mother in her nursing home during the holidays, Bill Looney saw firsthand how many people didn’t have family or friends coming to visit. He took it upon himself to change that, and he and his wife Trudy began dressing up as Santa and Mrs. Claus to pass out gifts to those residents.

When Bill Looney passed in 2015, his family created the William A. Looney Family Foundation and they partnered with Lutheran Community Services Northwest and gifted 165 homebound seniors in Pierce County.  

Our program kicked off in 2017 by gifting 778 seniors in Pierce County.  Every year, we have increased the number of seniors who receive meaningful gifts and have expanded throughout western and eastern Washington and northern Oregon.

During the 2023 holiday season, we successfully exceeded our goal and gifted over 9484 seniors in 17 counties.

We provide year round acknowledgement, including spring and fall gifts as well as birthday boxes, and our goal is to reach even more seniors throughout the Pacific Northwest and country.  Dozens of partnerships with local agencies connect us with seniors who are homebound, isolated, and potentially economically challenged.

Santa for Seniors is made possible by the generosity of the William A. Looney Family Foundation and community members.  In April 2022, we received a generous gift to expand Santa for Seniors nationally, with a goal to reach 100,000 isolated seniors in the next 10 years. New partner sites can be found in Minnesota and Alaska. This exceptional gift will sustain Bill Looney’s legacy that every senior feel remembered, not forgotten.

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Santa for Seniors relies on a robust network of partners to reach as many isolated seniors as possible.  We couldn’t do our work without them!

In 2023, we partnered with 77 local organizations including:

• Disciples Terrace – a United Church Homes Affordable Housing Community
• Full Life Care
• Kitsap Meals on Wheels
  
• Marymount Manor
• Mercy Housing
• Northwest Retirement Center
• Peninsula Housing Authority
• St. Andrew’s Place Assisted Living Community, Port Angeles
• Senior Services for South Sound
• The Mustard Seed Project of Key Peninsula

For us to consider your agency/organization as a new partner, please fill out the New Recipient Partnership Form and mail, email or fax applications to:

Santa for Seniors
Lutheran Community Services Northwest
3848 S. Junett Street
Tacoma, WA  98409
Fax: (253) 597-6456
Email:  [email protected]

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Looking for Santa for Seniors in your area? We currently have national partners in these states:

Alaska

• Lutheran Social Services of Alaska 
  

Minnesota

• Gifts for Seniors 

Oregon

• Santa for Seniors of Clatsop County – Peace First Lutheran Church

Learn more about becoming a national partner

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Thank you for your interest in Santa for Seniors.  We have many opportunities for
community involvement, including:

• Partnering
• Volunteering
• Sponsoring a Senior
• Hosting an Item Drive
• Donating to our Wish List
• Becoming a Corporate Sponsor

For more information on how to get involved with Santa for Seniors, please call 253-722-5684 or submit the form below. Visit Volunteer Opportunities to inquire about in person opportunities (individual and small groups) and other ways to volunteer.

Sign up here to recieve our Santa for Seniors Newsletter.

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