Stocking Stuffers for Seniors is an annual holiday initiative that runs until Dec. 8 and is spearheaded by London Drugs.
The program began with stores featuring holiday trees, where customers could pick a gift tag and purchase an item from a local senior’s wish list, returning it to the store for delivery. Nearly a decade later, the initiative has grown chain-wide at stores and continues to engage customers in supporting seniors during the holiday season.
Lethbridge Store Manager Chris Mabie says the initiative has partnered with seven seniors’ homes in Lethbridge and area. “To get personalized gift tags from the seniors on items they would like for Christmas. The idea behind it is not every senior may have family nearby. It’s nice to have a present for every senior.”
According to the World Health Organization, social isolation and loneliness have become a growing public health crisis, with one in four older adults affected worldwide.
In Canada, nearly 30 per cent of seniors are at risk of becoming socially isolated. According to Statistics Canada, during the second quarter of 2024, 10.4 per cent of people aged 65 or older in Canada reported always or often feeling lonely.
Loneliness and social isolation can pose serious impacts on physical and mental health, as well as the well-being of society and communities, WHO reports.
For the local Stocking Stuffers for Seniors, Mabie notes, there’s a Christmas tree in the Lethbridge store and customers can come in to select a tag off the tree for a senior. “It will have personalized items for a senior in the area and they can go around the city and collect those items. They don’t need to be purchased here and bring the present back for them and we will make sure they get it for Christmas morning.”
Last year, Mabie adds, there were about 650 seniors in the Lethbridge area that received a present from a customer. “It’s a really good response. Both the customers love it and so do the seniors. It’s heartwarming to see a senior that has a gift on Christmas morning that might not otherwise. Though they might not know the person who gave them the gift, it’s the thought that counts.”
