This weekend, several Walton County Sheriff’s Deputies’ volunteered their time by going to elderly residents’ homes and dropping off Christmas presents. Mike and Amanda Parrott of DeFuniak Springs patterned “Santa for Seniors” after a similar project based in Dothan, Alabama.
The Walton County Council on Aging helped provide a list of elderly in need of basic necessities’ like food and warm clothing. Mrs. Parrott then went to individuals and businesses, and got them to adopt a senior in need of help. In this the first year, Mike and Amanda were able to provide gifts for 30 seniors mainly in the Freeport and DeFuniak Springs area. They hope to do even better next year.
Mrs. Parrott says, “Hard times haven’t put a dent in the generosity of Walton County. During some of the toughest economic times since the Great Depression, local residents came through”. National statistics indicate that the recession has hit seniors the hardest, and that many of them have incomes of less than six-hundred dollars per month. The majority of the request lists included items like blankets, slippers, and nightgowns. Mrs. Parrott says “these folks are not asking for high ticket items, but just asking for the basics”.
The couple says “the efforts of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office to help deliver gifts to many of these elderly folks who are invalids, shut-ins’, or simply don’t have a vehicle proved extremely valuable.” One woman reportedly had no furniture in her tiny apartment, but a small Christmas tree in the middle of the floor. Thanks to “Santa for Seniors”; she now has several gifts to go underneath the tree.
[Picture: Mike and Amanda Parrott ready to deliver Christmas gifts to an elderly shut-ins’ home; Amanda Parrott delivers gifts to Elizabeth Gee of DeFuniak Springs.]
