Hundreds of elderly people across Staffordshire are receiving an early Christmas gift of joy thanks to a Lichfield company’s charity campaign.
Business Manager Kym Morris and a team of other volunteers from Legionella and Fire Safe Services have helped to create activity-based gifts in personalised Christmas stockings to help ensure no older person feels alone or forgotten during the festive season.
Stockings for Smiles has seen over 180 stockings distributed at the Age UK Staffordshire head office in Penkridge, across the charity’s day centres and into the community for those who are housebound and may otherwise feel isolated.
A team of helpers from the company donned elf costumes to give out the stockings last week.
Carl Bennett, CEO of Age UK Staffordshire, said: “Many of our clients experience dementia and the elves spent time with each and every one helping un-wrap gifts and having a general chit chat.
“Our clients had a wonderful time with lots of smiles, laughs and thank yous all around – What a lovely gesture from the team at LFS. Thank you all for your generosity.”
The team hope Stockings for Smiles will encourage others to reach out to the elderly in their communities and spread the joy of companionship.
Kym said: “It was a lovely afternoon, we all really enjoyed it, some of our elves even got everyone singing Christmas songs and one lady in particular loved her harmonica from her stocking and was soon playing it to us all.
“We may have been there to bring smiles to these lovely people, but our elves said it was the best day they had had in a long time and asked when we could go again, our elderly need to know how much of an impact they have on our lives.”
