How it Works
The elderly in our society often find themselves to be the "forgotten ones," and many are isolated, with no family or support network. The year 2008 marks the 24th Christmas season that Santa's Secret Service has found anonymous donors who selflessly provide personalized gifts for these elders.
Santa's Secret Service has a strong relationship with seniors’ groups, housing facilities, outreach programs and health care providers in Calgary and the surrounding area. Every year, members of these groups eagerly participate in our program, providing anonymous personal profiles of isolated seniors, indicating their age, gender, hobbies, needs and preferences.
Once we receive these profiles, we identify an equal number of volunteer Secret Santas and distribute the profiles to them. The Secret Santas then purchase truly special gifts for their anonymous senior, spending what they feel is appropriate. Many of our Secret Santas come back year after year to repeat their amazing generosity.
Following the Secret Santa shopping deadline, the gifts are brought to a warehouse, where volunteer elves sort them. These special elves make sure that each and every gift matches the senior for whom it is intended and that no one is left out. They also ensure that the wrapping for each gift is intact, and that each contains a special card and greeting from Santa.
When all the gifts have been sorted, Santa's dedicated courier reindeer deliver them to the participating caregivers. These caregivers then distribute the gifts to each of their profiled seniors. In this way, the isolated seniors of our community have something special to open on Christmas morning.