Welcome to Santa's Secret Service
The greatest gifts are given when a willing heart is filled with compassion. I discovered this in 1985, after I volunteered for the first time as a "friendly visitor" at a care facility for the elderly. Having never known my grandparents, I had no experience with senior citizens and had never been to a care facility.
On the day of my visit, I walked from my car to the front entrance of the building, savoring the blue sky and sunshine, and noticing the beautiful trees that lined the drive and parking area. Then I stepped up to the doors, which opened automatically into a long, dark hallway. Once my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw two rows of residents sitting in wheelchairs along either wall.
As I walked down the hallway, which seemed endless, I looked from side to side, acknowledging those who were watching me intently, and touching those whose hands reached out to me. A few people smiled, but no one spoke. I was touched by these seniors in their simple environment, seemingly cut off from the outside.
Soon after my visit, I approached the volunteer coordinator who had set up my volunteer experience and began to ask some questions about the seniors I had encountered. "Do these residents have family?" I inquired. "Do they all have frequent visitors?"
I learned that many seniors living in care facilities have no family and few friends to provide them with much needed support. I also discovered that many of these isolated seniors do not receive gifts at Christmas time, other than the token gifts given to every resident in the facility. I arranged immediately to receive the names of ten isolated residents, as well as ideas from their caregivers as to what they might enjoy or need most.
That year, I was given the privilege of providing personalized gifts to those ten elderly residents. The sense of fulfillment that I felt that Christmas remained with me throughout the year, and the next Christmas, the gift-giving process was repeated, with additional locations and recipients. I realized then that the giving must continue... and spread. I had learned that "The Secret is Sharing," and the concept of Santa's Secret Service had begun.
Since those early years, the program has grown substantially. We are now working with many more care facilities, and many more volunteers. As a charitable organization, led by a board of directors, Santa's Secret Service maintains its original vision and always remembers whom we are here to serve.
Thank you for your interest in our program. We hope that as a volunteer or donor, you will discover that as you give, you also receive. This, after all, is the essence of Santa's Secret Service.
Donna Jones, founder of Santa's Secret Service
