Bishop Moore and Apopka High students spread Christmas cheer to seniors

Christmas 2019

Three years ago, Kennedy Jackson, a junior at Bishop Moore Catholic High School, learned that a number of seniors living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Central Florida rarely received gifts or visits during the Christmas Holiday. Wanting to bring some holiday cheer to those needing it most, Kennedy, started the “Santa to Seniors” community service project for teens.

The first year, Kennedy, delivered gifts and handwritten Christmas Cards on her own to 50 residents at a local nursing home. The following year, student volunteers from Bishop Moore and Apopka High School teamed up with Kennedy to wrap and deliver 100 gifts and Christmas cards to seniors at Courtyard of Orlando and Wellsprings Residence in Apopka, Florida. This year, the teens will deliver gifts, which include blankets, puzzles, handcrafted bracelets, etc., to 150 seniors at Courtyard of Orlando, Wellsprings Residence and across Central Florida through an area church.

“This is one of the most fulfilling things I have done,” Kennedy said during a recent planning meeting for “Santa to Seniors. “My only wish is that we could get more students involved and provide more Christmas cheer to seniors throughout the community.”

But Kennedy does not want to stop with Christmas. In the spring, the teens are planning to deliver blankets, stuff animals and knit caps to cancer patients. “The feeling of Christmas should not be just one day, it can be year-round,” Kennedy shared.

Gifts for “Santa to Seniors” will be delivered on December 19th, and December 21, by the teens, parent volunteers and the project’s sponsor, local attorney, Gregory Jackson.

For more information on the “Santa to Seniors” project, please contact Gregory Jackson at (321) 287-8807 or via email at gregory_jacksonesq@yahoo.com.