BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — The Brazos Valley is all about spreading holiday Christmas cheer and that includes the community coming together to give seniors a memorable Christmas.
“We’re here to serve the community,” Jesse Ocaña, Owner, Jesse’s Taqueria & Bakery. “You know, we’re not just about the sales. We’re about helping the community too.”
Jesse’s Taqueria and Bakery and Home Instead in Bryan are partnering to help seniors in the Bryan-College Station area by checking off items on their Christmas wish list.
“This is specifically done for the seniors of our county, our neighborhood here and we’re so glad to be the ones to distribute some of their, well they call them bulbs,” said Ocaña. “You know, they have a tag, and it has their name, and, on the back, it has the gifts that they want.”
Home Instead aims to provide care to seniors in their home, as well as in nursing homes and facilities.
This is the first year Home Instead has partnered with the community to bring Christmas to seniors.
“We ask them to give us a list of some of their senior’s name, some of them that they may have known in particular that needed gifts or that may not have family in town to be able to come visit them during Christmas,” said Brooke Powell, General Manager, Home Instead.
Home instead placed 20 to 30 names on each Christmas tree they placed around town.
“On the ornament itself, on the front is just a name,” said Powell. “It gives you an idea of whether it’s a male or female that we’re going to be providing the gifts for and then on the back of the ornament that we have placed on the trees it has a bunch of gift ideas. Now, they’re just suggestions. They’re not necessarily they have to have this but they’re common items.”
At Jesse’s, the Christmas tree was installed on Tuesday, and he was out of names by Friday morning.
“We are out completely,” said Ocaña. “There are people coming in and asking for them. I had to call them and they’re going to bring me some as soon as possible because we already have several people in line they want to go ahead and get some of those bulbs so they can go ahead and get some of those gifts for the seniors.”
While some items listed on the bulb are a wish list item, any gift is appreciated.
“Things like socks, blankets, maybe even some treats like chocolate snacks,” said Powell. “Just things that will bring them some joy during this holiday season and just be a way for us to give back. They’ve given so much to us in the past and even today, so we want to give back to them as well.”
Home Instead will pick up all gifts Dec. 12 and 13 from the location you picked up an ornament to deliver to senior citizens in time for Christmas.
