Clark County volunteers deliver gifts to hundreds of Clark County seniors

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Through the efforts of donors and volunteers, hundreds of Clark County seniors will soon unwrap their gifts this holiday season.

Clark County volunteers, including American Medical Response and Battle Ground organizations, delivered gift packages to 385 seniors on Monday, Dec. 16, as part of the annual “Be a Santa to a Senior” program. Since its inception in 2009, the initiative has brightened the holidays for local seniors by fulfilling gift requests. Home Instead, a company providing in-home senior care, began the program in 2009 to make the holidays bright for Clark County seniors.

Julie Williams of Home Instead and community volunteers wearing purple Santa hats coordinated the collection, wrapping and delivery of over 1,000 donated gifts. These packages were distributed to seniors across the county, spreading joy to individuals who might otherwise feel isolated during the holiday season.

“We have so much loneliness and poverty in our senior community, and it’s nice to bring joy where maybe they didn’t have any. Loneliness is really a danger to our loved ones. Companionship and interaction with people are so important. I think we learned during the pandemic that isolation is not good. Any way we can get out and touch folks in a positive way in our community can only do good,” Williams said.

Participating community centers placed a purple tree each year during the week of Thanksgiving. Organizations like Meals on Wheels collect gift requests from local seniors, which are then written on tags hung on these trees. Community members and organizations take the tags, purchase the gifts, and return them to the designated sites. The Battle Ground Community Center tree received 141 gift requests this year. Williams said] Battle Ground Senior Citizens Inc. fulfilled every one of those requests.

Purple Tree site locations and contributions

• Battle Ground Community Center: 141 tags
• Firstenburg Community Center: 116 tags
• Marshall Community Center: 63 tags

Additionally, 65 surplus gifts will be delivered to Mallard Landing Assisted Living, totaling 385 deliveries.

The following organizations gathered gift requests from seniors to fulfill their holiday wishes:



• Brookfield Health and Rehabilitation of Cascadia, Battle Ground
• Mallard Landing Assisted Living, Battle Ground
• CDM Caregiving Services, Vancouver
• Clark County Veterans Assistance Center, Vancouver
• Bridge Crest Post Acute, Hazel Dell
• Oaks at Timberline Care & Rehabilitation, Vancouver
• Meals on Wheels

Frequently sought gifts include practical items such as gloves, coats, blankets and slippers. Other requests ranged from puzzle sets to new books, a mix of necessities and small comforts for local seniors.

“They’re usually pretty simple gifts,” Williams said. “When we deliver to CDM (Caregiving Services), we get to see the people’s faces when they get their gifts. That’s the best part. It’s just really enjoyable to watch the joy in their faces when they’re pulling out items they requested and received.”

Friday evening, volunteers spent two hours wrapping over 1,000 gifts at the Battle Ground Community Center, which donated its space for the effort, and preparing them for delivery. Williams noted that, despite the busy pace, the joy on the recipients’ faces makes the hard work incredibly rewarding.

“It’s just a joyful endeavor that we love to do every year. It takes a lot of effort, but it’s worth it.”