VIRGINIA BEACH — Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group wants to grant the wishes of hundreds of seniors this Christmas, but the Virginia Beach-based company needs community support to do it.
Atlantic Bay has launched its 16th annual “Senior Wish List” program to help the elderly in Hampton Roads and across the country get exactly what they want for Christmas.
With community support, the company was able to grant 600 wishes last year. This holiday season, Atlantic Bay wants to expand the program to include about 800 seniors. About 300 of those people will be from Hampton Roads, said AB Cares Director Tiffany Tyler.
“Seniors tend to be the forgotten population during the holidays,” Tyler said. “We want to come in and brighten their day and grant their wishes.”
The program is simple: Seniors are given cards to list their wishes, which are hung up on Christmas Trees in Atlantic Bay lobbies. Gift givers can pick up to five wish cards and bring the wrapped Christmas gifts back to the Atlantic Bay location.
For Hampton Roads, that location is at 600 Lynnhaven Parkway.
Gift givers are asked to bring the presents back to Atlantic Bay by Dec. 8 so that social workers can distribute them before the Christmas holiday.
Seniors are given a price limit of $50 for their wishes. They typically ask for kitchen appliances, socks, hats and board games to play with their grandchildren on the holiday.
“The seniors are always so happy and surprised to have their holiday wishes met,” Colleen Downes, community services manager for Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia, wrote in a news release.
“One client we encountered cried over receiving a microwave,” she continued. “We are so grateful that we were able to meet the needs of so many seniors.”
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