The Christmas trees are up and now it’s time to spread some love.
A small gift can go a long way, and the Lloydminster and District Co-op is looking to bring smiles to the faces of local seniors.
Read more: Co-op launches annual “Spread a Little Love” campaign for seniors
“A lot of these asks are, a calendar and a box of chocolates, that’s what they’re looking for to brighten their days,” said Peter Brown, Lloydminster and District Co-op CEO. “This program means so much to our seniors, our legacy members in the community.”
The Spread a Little Love This Christmas campaign officially kicked off Nov. 12. The initiative is entering its 11th year with plenty of names available to choose from.
“There’s a lot of opportunity to pick out an item and feel good about making that purchase for that special someone in the community that could use it,” he said.
Residents can grab and ornament and fulfil a wish at the Lloydminster Co-op marketplace and any gas bar.
“There’s going to be a little over 800 recipients this year,” said Brown. “It expanded quite a bit for a few years, but it’s been right around that little over 800 for the last two to three years now.”
This year, Co-op is working with The Olive Tree to give back.
Jana Thompson, The Olive Tree’s COO, says they worked with the Co-op to give back to some of their seniors.
“Our groups are specific to the Lloydminster low-income seniors housing facilities. Within those facilities, our teams go in, we collect all the information and the documentation and compile it all,” she said, noting they work with Co-op to build the list. “A lot of those seniors attend our programming.”
Thompson says a small gesture can mean a lot.
“This is such a special time of the year because we get so caught up in the busyness of the year and we forget that a small gesture can mean a lot,” she said. “It’s a great reminder to just stop, slow down, shop for somebody else.”
The gifts have to be returned to the Co-op marketplace on 50 Ave. or the admin office on 41 St.
Once the gifts are returned, they’ll be sorted and delivered by the Co-op.
“We’ll organize it, we’ll go through them and we’ll make sure these members get these Christmas gifts by the middle of December,” said Brown. “For some of the other homes the co-op organizes the delivery times of those.”
The deadline to return gifts to a Co-op location is Dec. 5.
Read more: Co-op campaign reaches 10 years
