Be a Santa to a senior

Home Instead Senior Care is teaming up with nonprofit agencies and area retailers to sponsor the fifth annual Be a Santa to a Senior, a program that collects, wraps and delivers gifts to lonely and needy seniors in Ventura County who might not otherwise receive a gift.

Christmas trees, which are set up in chosen facilities, feature ornaments with the first names of the seniors and their respective gift requests. Shoppers can pick up an ornament, buy items on the list and return them unwrapped to the store with the ornament attached.

Volunteers, nonprofit workers and others will collect, wrap and distribute the gifts to the seniors. A community gift-wrapping day will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Wed., Dec. 17 at the Simi Valley Senior Center, 3900 Avenida Simi. The public is invited to participate in the wrapping.

Gifts will be delivered to the seniors on Dec 18 through 25.

Trees will be available at the following locations:

Thousand Oaks: City of Thousand Oaks, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.; Atria Hillcrest, 405 Hodencamp Road; Castle Hill, 3575 N. Moorpark Road; Curves, 1739 N. Moorpark Road; Los Robles Homecare, 68 Long Court; Oakview at University Village, 3557 Campus Drive.

Last year the campaign delivered more than 1,200 gifts to local seniors.

Throughout North America last year, more than 26,400 volunteers distributed gifts.

Businesses are encouraged to contact the local Home Instead Senior Care office about adopting groups of seniors.

For more information or to volunteer for gift-wrapping day, call Laurie Reid at (805) 577-0926 or visit www.beasantatoasenior.com.