Members of a local Christian group succeeded in their first-time effort to bring Christmas gifts to residents of a local nursing home.
The outreach project by the Gilmer Christian Patriots provided Parkside Skilled Nursing Care residents with stuffed Christmas stockings just before the holiday.
Both Parkside and the nursing home in Blue Ridge received stockings, said Judy Williams, Christian Patriots member.
“We did a stocking for every resident stuffed with personal care items and a Christian tract,” said Williams. Several residents also received such gifts as clothing, blankets, toys, word games, candy and nail polish, she added.
Group members collected money in donation jars that were set up at several local businesses, while multiple local churches and individuals also made donations, Williams said.
In all, they were able to raise $1,350 to purchase gifts for Parkside residents, which were delivered to the nursing home in more than one carload, she added.
“We did it without much notice, and started less than a month ago,” Williams said. “We’ve got a very generous community.”
Williams said the Gilmer Christian Patriots is a grass-roots group that was formed a little over a year ago, and its members attend different area churches.
“It’s a Christian group and a political focus group. We share ideas about candidates and things going on politically,” she added.
Williams said doing something for the local nursing home’s residents was special to her because her mother, who suffered from dementia, passed away last year while at a Florida nursing home where COVID restrictions limited visits.
“We weren’t allowed to see her until they knew she was dying,” Williams said.
Tina Mullinax, Parkside’s activities director, said the nursing home previously held a group Christmas party with Santa each year, but that was prior to COVID. This year, a “winter wonderland” was made and each resident received gifts, stockings and Santa visits individually, she added.
“They were fantastic this year helping us out with Christmas,” said Mullinax about the Christian Patriots.
“We really appreciate them going above and beyond this year. The residents really, really loved it.”
Due to COVID restrictions, group members weren’t able to personally deliver the stockings one-by-one, but Williams said that’s OK.
“That was one of my goals, to visit with each resident, but it didn’t turn out that we were able to do that. Even more important, I think, was that we were able to do something,” she said.