One of the most beautiful things blooming at the Glen Lakes Garden Club, representing the Glen Lakes neighborhood of Spring Hill, is the charitable spirit of its members; who count philanthropy and charity among their primary missions. Furthermore, this holiday season they are planting life, hope and endless sunshine in the lives of local seniors.
This Christmas, the club donated more than a hundred gifts to “Be a Santa to a Senior.” For a decade, Home Instead Senior Care in Hernando County has joined their corporate family in hosting the Be a Santa to a Senior program, providing a happy holiday for seniors who otherwise would have nothing under the Christmas tree. “Our members went over and above in providing the 110 gifts for the seniors!” Said Gerry Morrone with the Glen Lakes Garden Club. “We can always count on them to support our philanthropic efforts.”
After seeing the Be a Santa to a Senior program advertised, the group decided to make this program the beneficiary of its 2022 holiday giving campaign. “My sister in law Georgeann and I spearheaded this worthwhile project as philanthropic committee chairs,” said Morrone. “We wanted to reach out to seniors who are alone for the holidays or whose families can’t afford to buy them gifts.”
After claiming gift tags from Be a Santa to a Senior Christmas trees and coordinating with Home Instead’s Michelle Mullins on the project, club members soon accrued 60 gifts. Morrone explained, “Although each gift tag contained three gift ideas, many of our members went above and beyond. If a senior wanted a robe, for example, they might have bought them a blanket as well.”
That was just the beginning as well! “We just kept going back to get more tags,” Morrone said with a chuckle. “We delivered six loads of gifts to the agency.”
This giving spirit is in keeping with the mission and purpose of the garden club, which in the past has made substantial donations to non-proft organizations such as the Dawn Center Domestic and Sexual Violence Services, whose mission is to break the cycle of domestic and sexual violence by providing supportive services and leadership that promotes social change and the ARC Nature Coast, whose mission is to provide individually tailored quality supports and advocacy for persons with disabilities and their families to promote their self-determination and inclusion in community life. Morrone shared, “We’re a group that loves to give and we’re so pleased to give this year to ‘Be a Santa to a Senior.’”
