Espoo’s Christmas post collection amassed nearly 5,000 Christmas greetings to the elderly
The City of Espoo challenged Espoo residents to send Christmas post to the elderly. The collection amassed almost 5,000 Christmas cards to delight home care clients and nursing home residents.
The City of Espoo’s services for the elderly has delivered the cards to home care clients and nursing home residents. The number of cards was so high that there was plenty to go around for other clients of Espoo social and health services as well.
Christmas cards are still appreciated
Cards were delivered to places like the Taavi memory service centre in Mankkaa that specialises in treating memory disorders. The centre was decorated festively already by the First Advent. It helps people with a memory disorder to distinguish between everyday life and the holiday season through different senses. That is why it must smell, feel, taste, look and sound like Christmas in Taavi – it helps clients to notice the arrival of the Christmas holidays. The Christmas cards complement the atmosphere.
“The residents have sighed in delight at the beautiful cards they received. Receiving the cards awoke memories of previous Christmases, and we have sung Christmas carols and talked about gnomes and frost and dreamed of Christmas treats,” says practical nurses Marjo Karppinen and Marjukka Päivinen.
Not all elderly people have relatives to send them a card. A Christmas card from a stranger can be surprisingly important.
“This is wonderful. Somebody has sent this to me. Oh dear me, where shall I put this card so that I can see it always when I want to. It makes me feel so good,” says one of the residents of the memory service centre when asked about the card.
The cards have also been welcomed in home care. Tiina Hovila, regional manager of home care, passes on greetings from the clients to all those who sent cards. “Thank you, unknown friend!”
The national campaign collected more than 110,000 cards
Besides the City, the HyTe Association also collected Christmas cards for the elderly in Espoo, delivering greetings to the volunteer helpers’ clients. The HyTe volunteers also helped in sorting the mass of cards collected by the City.
Espoo’s challenge was part of the nationwide Christmas post to the elderly campaign by the Siskot ja Simot(external link, opens in a new window) (“Sallies and Simons”) community, the aim of which was to enable as many elderly as possible to receive a warm Christmas greeting this year. A total of 110,000 cards were collected nationwide.
Many thanks to all who sent cards!