ALTON - Even though August has just begun, two local women are already planning on spreading some Christmas cheer.
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Nearly two years ago, Stacey Noble Loveland and her friend, Laura Robinson, met for breakfast just a few weeks before Christmas. Both women shared a passion for working with senior citizens and were shocked to hear that a program that provided gifts to seniors around Madison County had decided to cease operations.
“We were crushed to hear that it wasn’t happening that year,” Loveland said.
The two women quickly pulled together their resources and aimed to gift 100 senior citizens from around the area with stockings filled with gifts for Christmas. With the support of friends, family and the help of some local businesses, their new Stockings 4 Seniors program was able to provide 153 stockings to seniors who were, for whatever reason, spending the holiday season alone.
“We were pleasantly surprised with the response,” Loveland said.
From there, the women began preparing for their mission earlier in the year, collecting more donations to cover the cost of the stockings and for the gifts to be individually wrapped inside. In 2015, the duo set a goal of gifting 300 stockings, but was able to pass out 557 stockings from the generous donations and support of the community.
From Aug. 1 through Halloween, Stockings 4 Seniors will be accepting financial donations in order to cover the costs of the stockings and help with any of the requested items that may be necessary after the donation drive.
“Our mission is to reach out to seniors out there that are by themselves, for whatever reason, at Christmas time,” Loveland said. “We don’t look at the financial situation at hand at all. No one should be alone, especially at Christmas.”
Donations can be mailed to or dropped off at CNB Bank & Trust at 200 E Homer Adams Parkway in Alton. They should be marked for the Stockings 4 Seniors account.
From Nov. 7 through Dec. 5, Stockings 4 Seniors will be collecting donations at various drop off sites around the area. A list of requested items will also be announced prior to the collection dates.
CNB Bank & Trust as well as the RiverBender.com Community Center are proud sponsors of Stockings 4 Seniors.
“We want to do anything we can to brighten someone’s holiday,” Loveland said.
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