Age Concern Whanganui seeks donations to Secret Santa gift initiative

Age Concern volunteer Clark Allen holds the collection bag for the Secret Santa programme which provides gifts to older people in the Whanganui community. Photo / Supplied

Age Concern Whanganui is on a mission to give older people gifts this Christmas.

It is the seventh year the organisation has run its Secret Santa programme which aims to ease the loneliness of older Whanganui residents over the holidays.

Age Concern is asking for gift items or monetary donations to be dropped off at its office at 164 St Hill St – or a volunteer can arrange to collect donations if they are unable to be dropped off – until December 4.

“We were aware that the Christmas time can be very hard for older people in our community and so we collect gifts,” Age Concern Whanganui manager Michelle Malcolm said.

Age Concern is a national not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping older people across New Zealand, offering a range of services and advocacy efforts.

The first year Age Concern Whanganui ran the programme, organisers realised these Christmas gifts were the only ones many people would receive.

“I can remember dropping off a parcel to a lady who said this would be the only parcel she gets for Christmas,” Malcolm said.

“She put it under her little artificial Christmas tree and said she wasn’t going to open it until Christmas Day.”

There are no specific criteria for who can qualify for a gift. Many recipients are people Age Concern has helped during the year so is aware of their situation being difficult, or that they may be alone for Christmas.

“There’s a number of reasons why people’s families and their natural supports diminish,” she said.

“[The Secret Santa programme is] one way of us being able to show people that there are people in our community that care about them.”

Last Christmas, Age Concern hand-delivered more than 250 gift parcels to older people in Whanganui.

Malcolm said she hoped this year they could exceed this number but acknowledged the cost-of-living challenges many people were facing may make this difficult.

“Whatever we get, we will be extremely grateful for,” she said.

Examples of suitable gifts include edible treats, toiletries, hand creams, scent satchels, stationery, word searches, puzzles, handkerchiefs, small stuffed animals, small ornaments and coffee mugs.

Any gift donations were appreciated, Malcolm said.

A school will donate Christmas cards handmade by students to accompany the gifts. Last year, it was St Anne’s School in Whanganui East.

Age Concern volunteers will bundle and wrap gifts, beginning deliveries on December 8.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this initiative if we didn’t have the generosity of our community,” Malcolm said.