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The Heart of Christmas
@story Marla Cantrell
B
ing Crosby’s playing in the background, and the talk
area facilities. The list of things the residents ask for is humbling:
in the common room at this long-term care facility is
warm socks, sweatpants and sweatshirts to wear for doctors’
about what the holidays used to be like when these
visits, undershirts, lotion, bras, a decent razor, pajamas, robes,
seniors were children. Today, they remember, detailing the
large print Bibles.
way the smell of their mother’s cooking filled the air, how they helped their father chop down a cedar tree and decorated it
Those who volunteer with the program tell heartbreaking
with popcorn and handmade ornaments, how excited they were
stories. At times, they say, the elderly are dropped off at a long-
waiting for Santa.
term care facility with only the clothes on their backs. Imagine what that must feel like. Imagine the helplessness.
The memories help, but sometimes it’s just not enough. Some have outlived their families and friends. For them, this time of
So all year long, the charity gathers care packages for residents
year can be an especially lonely time.
in need. And at Christmas they make sure that everyone in the thirty-one facilities they service gets a present to unwrap. One
That’s where Hearts of Gold, an outreach program of Project
of the top requests is lotion, like Jergens or Oil of Olay. They like
Compassion in Fort Smith, Arkansas, comes in. Last year alone
jigsaw puzzles with jumbo pieces, books with large print, and
they gathered enough gifts for 2,000 residents in thirty-one
house shoes with non-slip soles.