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Buncombe County -- Buncombe County Government December 29, 2021
The Senior Wish Tree has become a cornerstone of the winter holidays at Health and Human Services. Every year, Adult Protective Services staff organize a community-wide gift drive for seniors and adults with disabilities in Buncombe County. “We provided gifts to over 115 seniors and adults with disabilities this year,” says coordinator for the Senior Wish Tree and Adult Protective Services Supervisor, Roxann Sizemore. “We partner with agencies that serve seniors and adults with disabilities in Buncombe County to compile the Senior Wish Tree, making it possible for the joy of the holiday season to reach all eligible residents in need, not just those served by HHS.”
Prime sponsor, Genova Diagnostics, sponsored almost 50 seniors and adults with disabilities this year. “The contribution made by Genova Diagnostics played a key role in the success of this year’s effort,” says Jennifer Teague, Program Manager for Adult and Aging Services “Not only did they purchase gifts for almost 50 individuals on our wish tree, but they also wrapped, labeled, and delivered their gifts to the source agency responsible for gift delivery to residents. This saves hours of our HHS staff’s time that would have otherwise been spent organizing the gifts and coordinating gift delivery to the source agency.”
The holidays are lonely for so many people in Buncombe County, especially seniors and adults with disabilities. “Many elderly and disabled residents have no family or friends to visit them and would otherwise spend the holiday alone and without gifts.” Roxanne continues, “But thanks to the generosity of our staff, individual, and business partners, all identified seniors and adults with disabilities on our wish tree received the gifts on their list”.
A special thanks to our agency partners who helped identify seniors and adults with disabilities in Buncombe County:
Meals on Wheels
Council on Aging
RHA
Always Caring
Housing Authority
Pisgah Legal
MAHEC
Thank you to Pamela Webber and Maria Matthews for checking in and organizing gifts and to Roxann Sizemore for all her efforts in making this a successful event again this year!
Lastly, we want to say thank you to everyone who took a name and purchased a gift for one of the individuals on the wish tree. Their generosity made the holiday special for many in our community.
