MONTREAL, Dec. 18, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Once again this year, Little Brothers will be bringing love and togetherness to seniors who have nobody else to celebrate the holidays with. On December 24 and 25, hundreds of volunteers will be visiting shut-ins across Quebec and holding their traditional Christmas party for seniors who are able to attend.
"Backed by 2,007 volunteers and the donors who support our mission, the 1,500 elderly women and men we reach out to all year long will have someone to share the holidays with: their forever family at Little Brothers," said Executive Director Caroline Sauriol. "This is a particularly difficult time of year for socially isolated seniors. At Little Brothers, we make sure nobody is forgotten, no matter what their physical or cognitive challenges. That's part and parcel of our commitment to every one of the Elder Friends in our extended family."
Home visits and group get-togethers will be held during the holiday season by the 16 Little Brothers chapters in Lac-Mégantic, Laval, Lévis, Longueuil, Lower Laurentians, Montreal (Centre, Pointe-de-l'Ile, Sud-Ouest, West Island), Quebec City, Rimouski, Saguenay, Sherbrooke, Sud-de-Lanaudière, Thetford Mines and Trois-Rivières.
Some very special guests to join the celebrations in Montreal
December 24: More than 100 volunteers will head out individually, as a pair or as a family to visit with 177 Elder Friends at a residence, nursing home or hospital, with a gift box containing food and festive surprises. Little Brothers spokesperson Marie-Thérése Fortin will lend a hand to the volunteer crews in charge of gift box distribution, while TV host and commentator Jean-Sébastien Girard will be dropping in to visit an Elder Friend.
December 25: For the 33rd year in a row, a Christmas meal will be held for 450 Elder Friends and dedicated Little Brothers volunteers, courtesy of Le Centre Sheraton Montreal. In addition to the delicious traditional holiday spread, the event will feature live musical entertainment and TLC in generous quantities. Marguerite Blais, the Quebec Minister for Seniors and Caregivers, and Béatrice Picard, the provincial patron for Little Brothers for the past 11 years, will be in attendance to share some wonderful moments with guests.
About Little Brothers
Drawing on 56 years of experience working with lonely seniors aged 75 and older, Little Brothers is committed to making the social isolation of the elderly a thing of the past and sharing special moments of love, joy and tenderness to make them feel alive and important until the very end. Over the years, nearly 8,500 elderly women and men have had life-changing experiences with Little Brothers, knowing that they matter and that they will have someone to turn to throughout their twilight years. The average time Elder Friends are served by Little Brothers is seven years.
There are currently close to 640,000 seniors 75 and older living in Quebec. Some 55,000 are at risk of living socially isolated lives, often suffering behind closed doors. The proportion of seniors in the province is projected to climb to 14.7% by 2036, making Little Brothers' efforts to fight social isolation more important and necessary than ever. To learn more, make a donation or become a Little Brothers volunteer, go to littlebrothers.ca or call 1-866-627-8653. Little Brothers is accredited under the Imagine Canada Standards Program, which attests to the organization's quality, efficiency and transparency.
1 aîné sur 5 awareness campaign
Little Brothers' 1 aîné sur 5 campaign is currently underway to give a voice to lonely seniors and raise awareness in Quebec about this group of people who all too often go unseen and unnoticed. Visit DuProprio (http://bit.ly/2L99qqf) and the Little Brothers Facebook page (http://bit.ly/2zOZOwg) to find out more about the campaign.
Photo credit: Gilles Pilette, Little Brothers
SOURCE Les Petits Frères
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Interviews: Christine Lessard, 514-915-4871 - [email protected]
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