Cedar Rapids firefighters will 'be Santa to a senior' next week

Cedar Rapids firefighters will deliver gifts and test smoke alarms in homes throughout the community as part of the “Be Santa to a Senior” program next week.  This is the sixth year that the Cedar Rapids Fire Department has partnered with Home Instead Senior Care, a senior citizen home care service that provides companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, medication reminders, errands and more.

Firefighters have 85 gifts to help deliver this year.  Last year, 109 households participated in the program, which included the installation of 28 new smoke alarms and 21 replacement batteries for existing smoke alarms.

The program's goal is to provide a gift for a senior citizen who may not have family in the area or who are having a difficult time financially.  Over 40 businesses and organizations displayed giving trees in which individuals could select a senior citizen's name and purchase them a gift.  The names of participating residents were submitted from 17 organizations or care facilities, including Aging Services, Heritage Agency on Aging, and Linn County Aging and Disability Resources.

In addition to delivering the gifts, firefighters will make the participant's homes safer by ensuring that there are working smoke alarms on every level of the home and near sleeping areas.

Fire Department crews are scheduled to deliver gifts to participating residents throughout the three-day period of Tuesday, December 20th through Thursday, Dec. 22.