Readers’ minds may be turned to all things spooky but Soroptimist International Pahrump Valley (SIPV) is already looking past Halloween to the most wonderful time of the year. With the goal of brightening the lives of others this holiday season, SIPV is undertaking a donation drive to collect an assortment of items that will be gathered into beautiful baskets and gifted to area seniors.
The initiative titled Christmas for Seniors was launched three years ago, with event chair Gina Emond spearheading the effort.
Emond became a member of SIPV about a decade ago, following the passing of her husband. “I started to do a lot of volunteer work around that time and I know Soroptimist does that, so I went ahead and joined. Those ladies are awesome. They are so active, it’s great, this is just what I like doing, volunteering for our community,” Emond enthused.
She explained that when the Christmas for Seniors project was proposed, she felt it was a perfect fit for her personal touch.
“What started this is, in 2016 I ran for Ms. Senior Golden Years and my platform was to work with grandparents who are raising grandkids. And as I was also a Soroptimist, this project goes right along with what I’ve done before and that’s how I became the chair of the event,” Emond said.
“This year we are looking at doing only 100 baskets in total, so that we can ensure that each basket has a robust, equal amount of items,” she continued. “And for the first time, we’re also asking businesses to get involved by competing with each other to see who can provide the most donations, so we’ll see who earns bragging rights for that.”
Christmas for Seniors started in 2022, when SIPV created approximately 68 holiday baskets filled with all kinds of useful and fun items, which were donated to Inspirations Senior Living’s memory-care residents. The next year, the nonprofit assembled 104 baskets and worked with a variety of entities to distribute them.
“At the suggestion of Judge Kim Wanker, we worked to provide gift baskets to seniors under court guardianship, as well as to people living in the senior apartments on Calvada and Pahrump Valley Blvd., and we partnered with the Salvation Army and a couple of local churches, too,” Emond detailed.
For 2024, SIPV is concentrating on senior women, specifically grandmothers who are raising grandchildren.
“Grandparents who are raising their grandkids are not going to be focused on themselves,” Emond remarked. “And that’s kind of why we’re doing this. We’ve got Toys for Tots, we’ve got Angel Tree, we’ve got so many organizations collecting toys and things for kids. And any food or extras, the grandparents will spend their money on the kids, not themselves.”
Donations that are sought include cold-weather items, paper goods, hygiene products and more. Donations will be accepted now through Wednesday, Dec. 11 at the NyE Communities Coalition Administration Office, 1020 E. Wilson Road.
For more information contact Emond at 702-785-7828.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com