WESTLOCK/BARRHEAD – You can sponsor a senior for this Christmas season and make their season special.
“The seniors are an extension of our family. It takes a village to raise a senior," founder Lisa Fibke said.
C.A.N. (Communities of Alberta Networking for seniors) started in Onoway with just one community.
Today Fibke said it spans from Edson to Spruce Grove, Mayerthorpe and St. Albert to Cochrane to Calgary with many communities in-between.
In Westlock both the Westlock Pembina Lodge and the Westlock Continuing Care facility have joined the C.A.N. program this year.
“This is the first year Westlock has participated in the program,” said Jaime Spence Pagé, Westlock organizer.
“I participated in the C.A.N. Wish for Seniors Program as a sponsor the last couple years, but I was going to Barrhead because Westlock wasn't on their seniors wish list.”
“I thought this is something we could bring to Weslock, and the response has been awesome!”
In Westlock on the Senior Wish List are 117 seniors from the Continuing Care group and 117 seniors from Pembina Lodge.
The Westlock Continuing Care group is looking for people to sponsor a senior with a Christmas gift of new pyjamas and stocking stuffers.
The Pembina Lodge has a Christmas wish list of hygiene items, socks, or finger mitts for either male or female seniors for a gift at this time of year where sponsors can choose to put together a bag with their choice of items from the list.
People interested in sponsoring a senior in Westlock can connect through the C.A.N. Facebook page or by email [email protected]
“We just had another group that offered to do Christmas cards for all the seniors so those will go in the bags as well,” said Spence Pagé.
The group is the Pembina Zone Canadian Ski Patrol.
They patrol at Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill and Evolution Freestyle.
In Barrhead, 225 seniors have registered for the Annual Seniors Wish List.
Sponsors can choose from a list of suggested gifts for seniors.
Sponsors purchase their gifts for the seniors and have the gifts dropped off before Dec. 15.
There is a contact for each area that will assign you a senior and provide instructions for drop-offs prior to Dec. 15.
“People are signing up as sponsors and we don’t want any senior left out,” added Spence Page.
Fibke founded the non-profit in 2016 after her father passed away hearing how many seniors get left behind.
“I want seniors to know they are cared about and try to bridge the gap between the families again,” said Fibke.
She started out by focusing on the senior care homes.
The C.A.N. program accepts individual seniors for the program as well.
The non-profit does fundraising all year through weekly meat draws and their Christmas program runs from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.
You can find C.A.N. (Communities of Alberta Networking for seniors) on Facebook to connect with this generous group.
They are looking for volunteers, sponsors for their senior programs and business partners.
