Making spirits bright: Home Care Assistance, Natural Grind team up to help seniors

The holidays are a time for joy, celebration and giving, but for some senior citizens, they’re a painful reminder of the struggles they can face to make ends meet.
           
Against that backdrop, Home Care Assistance (HCA) of the Cedar Valley has teamed up with the Natural Grind in Grundy Center to create “Operation Merry and Bright,” an effort to provide Christmas gifts for area residents in need. HCA Care Manager Sara Wegmann sees it as a perfect opportunity to give back to the community she calls home.
           
“When we look at the big picture, we look at what we have to do to change the concept of the way the world ages, and how do we do that?” she asked. “One of them is making sure that people that are elderly—whether they have our services or they don’t—feel loved and feel like people genuinely care about them.”
           
Some older citizens, especially those without living family nearby, can be forgotten during the holiday season, Wegmann added, and their needs are often as simple as basic household items like blankets, socks, yarn, adult diapers, pajamas and winter coats—they aren’t asking for iPads or flat screen TVs.
 
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