Hundreds of nursing home residents in Brownsville and Olmito received holiday gifts from Valley Baptist Medical Center – Brownsville employees this Christmas holiday as part of the Valley Baptist “Seniors’ Santa” program.
This is the 13th year that Valley Baptist employees have donated the Christmas gifts to nursing home residents – some of whom have no family in the area and who otherwise wouldn’t receive a gift.
In years’ prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Valley Baptist employees would personally deliver the gifts to residents at their respective nursing homes.
But, this year, in alignment with safety protocols in place, gifts were delivered in the parking lot and to the exterior main entrance of each facility. Facility employees then distributed to residents in time for Christmas.
During this year’s Seniors’ Santa campaign, the level of employee involvement grew and met all expectations, with dozens of employees at Valley Baptist-Brownsville generously contributing gifts and raising funds for the event.
Employees and other volunteers helped with gift wrapping for the “Seniors’ Santa” program and then helped with delivering presents to the nursing homes.
This year, each nursing home resident received a wrapped gift which were delivered along with a Christmas card signed by a Valley Baptist employee (or another person) who donated $5 to purchase the resident’s gift.
“This Christmas, more than ever, residents of our community’s nursing homes need to know that they are not alone during this holiday season,” said Leslie Bingham, CEO for Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville, who delivered gifts to Ebony Lake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Christmas Eve.
In the week leading to this Christmas Eve, Valley Baptist employees delivered gifts to nursing facilities, including Ebony Lake (Brownsville), Alta Vista (Brownsville) and Sunshine Haven (Olmito).
The “Seniors’ Santa” project is spearheaded by the Valley Baptist Human Resources Department and supported by employees and the Valley Baptist Auxiliary.
