This holiday season, your gift can help give older people the care, connection, and support they need to thrive, right in the heart of their communities.
Across Canada and around the world, grassroots organizations are helping older people stay connected and live well. They bring people together, provide essential services, and offer a helping hand when it’s needed most. Sometimes, their impact is as simple as a friendly face, a shared meal, or a knock on the door that reminds an older person that they’re not alone.
But these communities can’t do it alone.
This holiday season, your gift will help fight loneliness and strengthen the community support that older people need to thrive. Your generosity helps local organizations continue their vital work, bringing people together and reminding older people everywhere that they matter and they belong.
See the Difference Strong Communities Can Make!
Gayle
Saskatchewan, Canada
Two years ago, Gayle accepted a friend’s invitation to attend a Hub Club gathering offered by the Saskatoon Council on Aging (SCOA). She had no way of knowing then that a simple afternoon outing would become an important part of her retirement.
The Seniors Neighbourhood Hub Clubs bring older adults together for social connection, learning, recreation, and community engagement. While Gayle is a regular at the Mayfair Hub Club location, she often visits other Hub Clubs when a topic or special event catches her interest, especially the Christmas celebrations with music and treats.
For someone who has always enjoyed staying active and involved in her community, the Hub Clubs offered more than just something to do. They provided opportunities to build meaningful relationships, stay connected, and experience a strong sense of belonging. Ask Gayle about the best part of the Hub Club, and her answer is immediate: the people. A self-described “real people person,” she knows what many retirees discover: when you leave your job, what you miss most is being with people.
What began as casual conversations soon developed into lasting friendships. Today, Gayle regularly meets with a group of Hub Club friends for monthly lunches, extending those connections well beyond the program itself and into community life.
For Gayle, now her retirement is anything but empty. “I have places to go. I have people to see!”
Jerry
Alberta, Canada
After open heart surgery, Jerry received nutritious meals at home through Calgary Meals on Wheels, a local community organization supported with funding from HelpAge Canada.
“I’m very grateful that when I was down and out, and I couldn’t hardly move, they brought the food right to my door. The meals are nourishing me back to health.”
Jerry isn’t alone. He’s one of the thousands of older adults across Canada who is aging in his community thanks to local organizations who make that possible.
Asiror
Lokitaung, Kenya
At 76, Asiror has spent her life caring for her family and dreaming of a better future for her children. But in Lokitaung, Kenya, where drought and poverty make everyday life difficult, paying school fees while putting food on the table often felt impossible.
Everything changed in 2022, when Asiror’s community partnered with HelpAge Canada. With a community of support rallying around her, Asisor no longer had to choose between feeding her family and keeping her children in school.
Today, all three of Asiror’s children have completed secondary school. It’s a milestone that fills her with pride and gives her hope for their future.
“Growing older has not taken away my purpose,” Asiror reflects. She continues to support her family, share her wisdom with neighbours, and encourage other parents to invest in their children’s education.
Thank You for Being Part of a Community That Cares
HelpAge Canada works with community partners from coast to coast and around the globe, so that older people can access the programs and services they need to thrive in the places they call home.
We’re on a mission to show even more older people they’re not alone, reaching them in the heart of their communities – will you join us by making a gift this holiday season?
Want to chat? Call Julianna to make your gift this holiday season!
Our team would love to chat with you and learn more about what inspires you to give.
You can call Julianna at 1-800-648-1111, extension 705, to make your gift today!