While many people are getting ready to load up their Christmas trees with decorations, the Orillia Public Library wants its tree to be bare.
It started with the Santa for Seniors program. Wish lists for Christmas gifts were gathered from seniors’ homes in the area and tags bearing the desired items were placed on the tree in the library. Patrons could take tags, go shopping for the items the seniors requested and return the gifts to the library. The tags flew off the tree.
“It’s been such a success, people are now contacting us to check when they’re going on the tree,” said Kelli Absalom, the library’s director of information services. “People really like the idea of helping seniors in the community.”
There were 116 tags on the tree last year. This year, there were 127, and they’ve all been taken.
The initiative was started by Georgette Tanzi, a local resident who was inspired after seeing something similar at the library in Sudbury. She collects the wish lists every year and delivers the gifts to be opened Christmas Day.
With no more Santa for Seniors tags on the tree, the focus has shifted. Chanel Craigie, of the library’s teen services department, co-ordinates Sharing Santa with the teen advisory board to collect healthy food for The Sharing Place Food Bank. Again, visitors to the library can take a tag and go shopping for the requested items.
“It makes it seem a bit more personal when you’re buying something in particular that people have requested,” Absalom said. “We’re a community hub and we like to make a difference in our community.”
They’re not alone, she has found.
“People want to make a difference in their community and we want to help facilitate that,” she said. "People are pretty generous."
For more information, stop in at the library or call 705-325-2338.
