Our Mission
Kruizin’ 4 Seniors’ mission is to give back and brighten the lives of area elderly by fulfilling wishes primarily at Christmas, but also throughout the rest of the year.
We’re cruising for seniors!
We make the lives of area elderly brighter during the holiday season and all throughout the year! Kruizin’ 4 Seniors supports our area senior citizen centers and promotes community awareness in hope that others will take our lead and be empowered to help the elderly in their day to day lives.
What We Do:
We are passionate about helping the elderly through a variety of efforts including gift purchases during the holidays, as well as other acts of kindness based upon individual needs.
Goodie Bags
Every year at Christmas, Kruizin’ 4 Seniors distributes bags of goodies to every resident at our local nursing home. These bags include some basic necessities like shampoo, lotion, shaving gel, etc. It touches our hearts how these items and the care that goes into packing and delivering them makes such an impact on those who receive them. It really is the little things in life that can bring the most joy!
We also put together goodie bags for area elderly living in their own private homes. Last year these bags included jams, jellies, hot cereal, candy and a lap blanket. We rely on local donors to provide us with names of elderly who are not already within the reach of Kruizin’ 4 Seniors as residents of our local nursing home or assisted living facilities.
Each year, Kruizin’ checks in with the contacts we’ve established in Columbus, Absarokee, and Fishtail to go over the list from the previous year. We find out the health status on those we delivered to the year before and add new names to the list when the opportunity arises.
As funding allows, we can build upon this area each year. We are currently limited to home deliveries within Columbus city limits, but hope to expand our reach to private homes outside of Columbus in the near future as our organization grows.
Wish Lists
In early fall, managers at Columbus Apartments, Sage Apartments, Meadowlark Assisted Living, Shipp’s Assisted Living & Homestead Lodge receive a letter from Santa informing them that it’s time for their residents to fill out their wish list. Each resident then receives a letter from Santa telling them of Mrs. Claus’ tireless internet searches for the best gifts, and of the reindeer’s latest trick. Attached to the letter (which is quite entertaining in itself) is a wish list that each individual resident fills out. When the elves retrieve the personal wish lists, Santa and his team head out to shop for those specific items.
Some common requests:
• Subscription to the Stillwater County News
• Gift certificates for hair-do’s or perms
• Treats for their dogs or cats
• Candy
• Lotion
• Pajamas
• Slippers
• Bed sheets
Trust me, we’ve had some crazy requests too!
Do You Care?
More than 65 seniors received gifts and a visit from our Biker Santa Claus the first year of Kruizin’ 4 Seniors existence in 2008. In 2014 alone, 336 seniors received Christmas gifts and a visit! If you’d like to partner with us to provide these heartwarming services to the elderly in our community, visit our Get Involved page or make a tax deductible donation.
Other Things We’ve Done:
- Purchased a Wii & Bingo set for local senior living facility
- Purchased a computer system for senior living facility residents
- Purchased an iPad for assisted living residents to FaceTime with family and friends
- Helped an assisted living facility purchase a big screen TV
- Facilitated furnishings for a senior’s apartment
- Wrote and received a $4,000 grant for new carpet in the Absarokee Senior Center
- Planned, facilitated, and participated in birthdays celebrations and “bucket list” events
- Purchased and installed smoke detectors and CO2 detectors in seniors’ homes, and return for a visit to replace the batteries once a year.