![]() Often facilities take pictures of seniors opening their gifts to send as a thank you to the SmileMakers Guild. Who can forget a 102-year-old who requested a lap blanket? The gift you buy for a particular “solitary senior” is exactly the gift that senior receives. ![]() The guild fundraises to buy gifts to fulfill unclaimed angel tags, and members will shop the year-end sales to build up a gift inventory for next year. Since then, the outreach has just about tripled.įor her, this is more than a December project. And that’s what they’re all about.Ĭathy Johnston, a leader of the guild from Orange, got involved in 2005. It’s not necessary, but it enhances your entire experience. I ponder the name of this group, dedicated to making smiles.Ī smile is the froth on your cappuccino. “The excitement comes from opening all that and getting something they asked for.” “To hand them something is really nice, but to give them a box that is wrapped up with tissue paper is the whole thing,” Barty says. The wrapping itself takes more than a week – but unwrapping the boxes is part of the point. … Then to see their faces when they get a gift … some of them have nothing.” Their families put them in these facilities and forget all about them. Into each box also goes a cosmetic, donated by Mary Kay.īarty also volunteers as an ombudsman, so she sees the need. Nearby, Sharon Barty is boxing up a pair of men’s jeans, size 38 x 32. Stieger learned about resources offered by the council when her elderly aunt was being preyed upon financially.Īs an angel, Stieger bought a pair of flannel pajama pants for an 85-year-old man – and then added a top because she thought he might get cold. Of course, wrapping more than 3,000 gifts would put the elves on overtime.įirst, the SmileMakers Guild holds a party to assemble stacks of boxes floor to ceiling, like the backroom at Pizza Hut.Ĭindy Stieger, a longtime Guild leader, shut down two rooms of her Newport Beach house for a week just to cut all the donated gift wrap to fit three sizes of boxes. Imagine how it feels to get a brand new nightgown,” Jurak says, clasping her hands together against her heart. “I’m thinking about how nice it will be when she opens up the gift. That’s a gift both practical and oddly intimate. Jurak herself bought a nightgown for an 80-year-old woman. It was transcribed onto the back of a cardboard angel tag and hung on a wish tree for a sponsor to take and fulfill.Ī crew of Parker employees signed up to help box and wrap the gifts that will be delivered back to the facility for its Christmas party. His request was gathered in October by one of the volunteer ombudsmen who regularly visits Brown’s facility. Brown, who requested T-shirts in size medium. Choose display option "Detail" and search by title, activity code and more to find and register for you class or event.Charlene Jurak, who works at Parker Hannifin in Irvine, is wrapping a gift for 81-year-old Mr. Register Online: Register for classes online. ![]() Registration is required to participate in the lunch program. Email Isabel Jackson or call 91 for more information or to register for our Lunch Program. Lunch Program: We will offer a dual program lunch with meals being served curb-side or indoor dining.Endless Possibilities (formerly the Senior Times): View the latest Endless Possibilities for all of our programs, services and resources.For an appointment, please call the Aging Transitions Services Helpline at 91. Appointments: Information, individual services and one-on-one appointments are available M-F, 8 am - 5 pm.Activity Calendar: Download a paper copy of our monthly Activity Calendar including all of our videos, live classes and online programs.In addition, we will continue to offer programs in a hybrid (in-person/virtual) format.įor additional program information please see: Both senior centers are fully open to all activities and pre-pandemic operations.
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