Be a Santa to a Senior celebrates 20 years of brightening holidays for older adults
This year, Home Instead celebrates 20 years of bringing joy to the greater Pensacola community with Be a Santa to a Senior, a gift-giving program for older adults who may be overlooked, isolated or alone during the holiday season.
Since the program’s nationwide inception in 2003, Be a Santa to a Senior has engaged more than 65,000 volunteers, provided more than 2.2 million gifts, and shared the holiday spirit with about 800,000 older adults.
To participate, shoppers can look for Be a Santa to a Senior trees or displays at locations around the area. Ornaments featuring the name and desired gift of an older adult will be on display, and shoppers can buy the requested gift and return it wrapped to the location with the ornament attached. Ornaments will be available now through Dec. 20. The gifts will be delivered to local older adults in time for the holidays.
Be a Santa to a Senior trees can be found at the following locations:
Downtown YMCA, 165 E. Intendencia St.
Escambia County Sheriff's Office, 1100 E. Cervantes St.
First United Methodist Church, 6 E. Wright St.
Walmart Supercenter, 3767 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze.
Be a Santa to a Senior brings together the entire community, with support from local businesses, nonprofit organizations, retailers, volunteers, and countless other community members.
Visit BeaSantatoaSenior.com or imreadytocare.com for details.
Santa Rosa Medical Center accepting donations for the 2024 New Year’s Baby Basket
The Santa Rosa Medical Center is now accepting donations for the 2024 New Year’s Baby Basket.
The basket will be given to the family of the first baby born in Santa Rosa County in 2024. In January, the Santa Rosa Medical Center presented a local family with a wagon of items donated by the hospital, hospital staff and area businesses. Items ranged from gift certificates to items for mom and baby.
Those interested in donating to the basket can contact SRMC's marketing manager by phone at 850-626-5370 or by email at jackalyn_kovac@srmcfl.com to coordinate the donation before the Christmas holiday.
Find ways to help: Thanksgiving food distribution giveaways hosted in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties
Safe Haven signage installed at Escambia County Fire Rescue 24/7 fire stations
Escambia County Fire Rescue recently announced that Safe Haven signage, provided at no cost by A Safe Haven for Newborns, have been installed and are operational at all ECFR 24/7 fire stations.
Founded in 2000, A Safe Haven for Newborns' mission is dedicated to saving the lives of newborn babies from the dangers of abandonment while also saving pregnant girls and women during a crisis. As a result, over 300 babies in Florida have been saved from total abandonment.
Safe Haven is considered a safety net for both the mother and the newborn infant. The program allows mothers, fathers or whoever is in possession of an unharmed newborn, approximately seven days old or less, to leave them with someone at Safe Havens with full anonymity and no questions asked. Safe Haven locations include fire stations, hospitals or any staffed emergency medical service station. Once a baby is delivered to a Safe Haven, a local participating adoption agency is contacted.
The confidential and multilingual 24/7 hotline number for A Safe Haven for Newborns is 877-767-2229.
Visit ASafeHavenforNewborns.com for details.
Organizers seek authors, literary professionals for outdoor book festival
Books By the Bay, a new outdoor book festival sponsored by nonprofit Emerald Coast Writers, is seeking authors, poets, editors, graphic designers, cover artists, illustrators, agents, literary professionals, and new and used book vendors to participate in its inaugural 2024 festival. The one-day, free event is slated for March 23 at Pensacola’s Museum Plaza, 300 S. Tarragona St., behind the Pensacola Museum of History.
Books By the Bay’s planning committee is also seeking proposals from literary professionals who would like to speak at the festival. The event focuses on literary appreciation and will feature a wide range of genres from children’s books to memoirs, romance to steampunk, nonfiction to historical fiction, and graphic novels. The day’s events will include author signings, book sales, author panels, and writer’s workshops.
Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with local authors, national bestselling authors, literary experts, and characters in costume. For information about volunteering, acquiring space or participating as an author or literary professional or sponsor, email BooksByTheBayFest@gmail.com, call 850-270-8806 or visit booksbythebay.org.
Take part: To make a Causes submission, email giving@pnj.com.
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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Be a Santa to a Senior celebrates 20 years of brightening holidays
