Guest column: Remember seniors in holiday season

Published 4:00 pm Sunday, December 8, 2019

The Leroy Rogers Senior Center will host its Eighth Annual Christmas Luncheon for Tift County seniors 55 and over, Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. at the Leroy Rogers Senior Center.  Seniors will enjoy the traditional Christmas meal, entertainment, and door prizes.

This event is designed to provide joy and happiness coupled with fun and fellowship with their peers during the holiday season.  

Many seniors are often alone during the holidays and it can be a very difficult time for them—so, as we go about our merry ways during the Christmas season, let us stops for a moment to reach out to our seniors.  Social connectedness is especially important at holiday times.  Reaching out to older relatives and friends who are alone is something all of us should do, and if we can just fill at least one of their holidays with joy and happiness…what a blessing that would be. I ask that the community remember our elders during the holidays; you may ask “what can I do?” Here are some suggestions.

Drive them around town. Many seniors don’t drive as much as they used to, but they’d still love to see the holiday decorations put up by retail stores and overzealous neighbors as well as our beautiful decorated Fulwood Park.

Stay in touch.  For seniors it’s so important to know you are thinking of them during the holidays, especially those who are alone. Seniors today are of the generation that loves the simple things: a note in the mail, or a phone call. Invite them for a cup of coffee. It doesn’t have to be much; it’s the thought that counts. The best gift you could hope to give to the seniors in your life is not a new iPhone or an article of fashionable clothing—rather, it is a portion of your time that is the most valuable gift of all.

Let us have an empathetic approach. The withdrawal that most elders feel often comes with the pain of feeling like no one understands them, and that they do not matter. Try to empathize with the elders in your life rather than turning a blind eye to their struggle. Sometimes, all they need is a listening ear. The holidays may bring about the urge to air out memories, both happy and unhappy, and it can be enough to just sit and listen.

It’s important to do whatever one can to ensure that they do not feel like a burden, but rather an important part of the family or the community. The isolation that elders feel around Christmas time can weigh heavy on the mind, and contribute to their failing emotional well-being. It’s important to take measures to help keep that loneliness at bay.

This year’s luncheon is made possible by our Friends of the Community and local businesses of which she is very grateful for their generosity!  

If anyone would like to help make Christmas more cheerful for seniors who would otherwise be on their own — those in need of a good hot meal or other resources — donations of any kind would be most welcome.

Here’s wishing to everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the staff of the Leroy Rogers Senior Center.

Contact Fran Kinchen at 229-391-9299 or send donations to the Leroy Rogers Senior Center 315 West 2nd Street, Tifton, Ga. 31794.