n Pottsville: Home Instead Senior Care, in partnership with the Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services, is sponsoring a program to brighten the holidays for county senior citizens. In a press release, Kristin Danley-Greiner said holiday shoppers in the county will be able to provide cheer to area seniors by participating in the Be a Santa to a Senior program, which also includes area retailers, volunteers and community members. The goal is to ensure isolated seniors receive gifts and companionship during the holidays, which can be a difficult time for seniors who live alone or have lost spouses or loved ones. Retailers participating in the program are displaying Christmas trees now to Dec. 13 that feature ornaments with seniors' first names and their gift requests. Holiday shoppers can pick an ornament from the trees, buy the items listed and return them unwrapped to the store, with the ornament attached. Danley-Greiner said Be a Santa to a Senior trees are located in Fairlane Village mall. The local Home Instead Senior Care office, 115 S. Centre St., Suite 100, will enlist volunteers from its staff, senior-care business associates, nonprofit workers and others to collect, wrap and distribute the gifts to local seniors who might otherwise spend the holiday alone. Distribution will be Dec. 16-25. "Be a Santa to a Senior gives back to older adults in our area, many of whom have had significant, positive influence on our lives," Scott Bohner, owner at the local Home Instead Senior Care office, said in the release. "During this season of giving, we encourage shoppers to buy a little extra to say thank you to these community members." For more information about the program, visit BeaSantatoaSenior.com or call 570-581-8692.
n Ringtown: The bell choir from St. Paul's United Church of Christ, Mahanoy City, will perform a concert for the Christmas season at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul's United Church of Christ, 100 E. Main St., Ringtown. Refreshments will be served following the concert. All are welcome.
n Shenandoah: The Greater Shenandoah Area Chamber of Commerce is again sponsoring the Light Up the Park initiative for the holiday season in Girard Park at the community's northern end, according to Secretary Betty Ann Bugden. In the project, businesses, civic and social groups and individuals sponsor trees, which are then decorated with lights. Placards are placed at the tree bases identifying the sponsors. This year, the chamber will have Santa at the park on Dec. 7 to greet children. There will also be additional holiday decorations in the park. Chamber members are looking to develop Light Up the Park into an annual holiday spectacle that will be a destination for visitors. For more information, call Bugden at 570-462-0811 or email her at hairlady@shenhgts.net.
n Shenandoah: The mission and vision of the revitalization group Downtown Shenandoah Inc. is to return downtown Shenandoah to "an active pedestrian-oriented business district that will promote and sustain further economic, cultural and civic growth within the borough; to stimulate economic development by encouraging cooperation and building leadership in the business community; to develop a marketing strategy that will provide an improved retail mix, strengthen the tax base and increase investor confidence; to build a viable tourism effort; to promote a unified, quality image of downtown Shenandoah as a center of goods and services; to create an attractive, coordinated visual impression of Shenandoah through facade improvements, streetscape and historic preservation of our existing buildings." The group's motto is "Return to Prominence." DSI meets at 5:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month in its downtown center at 116 N. Main St. For more information or to volunteer to help the revitalization effort, contact Mary Luscavage, DSI's Main Street Program manager, at 570-462-2060. Valerie E. Macdonald is the DSI president and Karen Kenderdine is vice president. DSI has an ongoing capital campaign to raise a $250,000 local match to gain an additional five years as an official state Main Street Program community. Any individual, business or organization wishing to contribute to the campaign should contact the downtown center, stop by during regular hours or mail contributions to: Downtown Shenandoah Inc., 116 N. Main St., Shenandoah, PA 17976. DSI always welcomes additional volunteers for the revitalization effort.