Gifts, Food and Holiday Joy for the Aneth Senior Center

Navajo Santa selected the Aneth Senior Center to be the recipients of our 2021 Navajo Santa Senior Center program.

As you may have read, Navajo “Santa” doesn’t just bring gifts to those in need during the Christmas holiday but delivers gifts all year long. This past summer, board chair Marcia Thompson worked with Aneth Senior Center Supervisor Donovan Andy, and the onsite cook, Loretta Lansing, to obtain their “wish list” of items needed for the senior center, including a washer and dryer; commercial dough mixer; meat slicer; food processor; cookware; and kitchen tools. These needed items were purchased by Navajo Santa with the funds we receive from our generous donors and delivered to the center in August 2021.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Aneth Senior Center has been closed for in-house dining and socializing. However, this has not deterred the Aneth staff who have continued to provide hot meals 5 days a week to the 55 elders living in this community through curbside pickup and home deliveries. For many, this is their only hot meal of the day.

With the senior center in-house dining closed, Navajo Santa’s Senior Center Christmas program took place on December 3 as a drive-through meal and gift giveaway. Navajo Santa provided funds to purchase groceries for a special take-out Christmas dinner for the center’s elders. Our face-masked volunteers, along with Navajo “Santa” Randall Dee and Elf Darrell Thomas, helped the Senior Center’s staff hand out the meals along with gift buckets filled with scarves, hats, gloves, blankets, hygiene and first aid supplies, cards, candy and a stuffed animal. Phillips Marble donated a wheelbarrow, commercial storage shelving, an ax, shovel and rake. Ruth Toller and Sharyl Noble donated four sewing machines. Doyl Peck donated take-out cartons and several cases of dried soups. Navajo Santa and its awesome volunteers and donors made for a very happy Christmas for the Aneth elders.

A special thank you to the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation for their support of the Navajo Santa Senior Center program. And, to all of you who generously donate to Navajo Santa. Thank you!