Residents of local care centers will not have to be alone this Christmas, thanks to Lynn Connor and her idea for the community to “Adopt-A-Grandparent.”
With a donation of $20, anyone can provide a gift basket for a resident at Coventry Assisted Living, Plant City Towers, Convalescent Community Care or NWC Health Care.
The gift baskets will include home-baked Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, and Arbonne hand lotions and foot creams.
Connor, who owns Tip to Toe Day Spa, buys cookie dough from her clients’ children to support a school fundraiser.
“She buys them from the school kids, so there’s a circuit that hits her up every year,” Connor’s husband, Evans Crosby, said.
But this year, instead of keeping all of that cookie dough in the freezer for themselves, Connor and Crosby decided to bake the cookies and pass them on to people who might not have something else to look forward to this Christmas.
“It’s kind of like paying it forward,” Connor said.
Connor will order hand lotions and foot creams from Arbonne with money that is donated to her “Adopt-A-Grandparent” project.
“It’s fragrance-free, and allergy-free,” she said. “For very sensitive skin, there won’t be any problems.”
Connor and Crosby will deliver the gifts Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, likely during the residents’ dinner hour.
A smaller, furrier visitor also will accompany Connor and Crosby: their dachshund, who is a registered service dog and will spread cheer by making appearances in his elf costume.
This is Connor and Crosby’s third holiday season together, and they wanted to spend it with new friends in the community.
“Every year at Christmas, it doesn’t seem like Christmas because we don’t have children,” Connor said. “We wanted to do something to make it feel like Christmas.”
Crosby said he can remember years when he was alone for Christmas. The couple wanted to join others who did not have a family to celebrate with.
“People don’t go visit those people after they’ve been there awhile,” Connor said. “It’s so sad.”
Connor and Crosby are looking for volunteers to help with packing at Tip to Toe on Christmas Eve, and well as delivering the gifts Dec. 24 and Dec. 25. Interested community members should contact Connor at the salon. Financial donations can also be made.
JOIN IN
To donate or volunteer, contact Lynn Connor at Tip to Toe, (813) 759-8637. To give online, visit GoFundMe.com/ikfhq8.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.