Jo Alch knows Christmas is still months and months away. But that isn’t stopping the Dallas woman from bringing Santa Claus, and a little warmth and joy, to local nursing homes this summer.
Alch worked for years as a hospice nurse, and nowadays is the founder and director of nursing for Acapella Home Care. In her work over the years, she’s seen how some nursing home residents have no one in their lives, and nothing to look forward to.
About five years ago, she kicked off a charity that’s called “Pajamas for Seniors,” with the aim of giving nursing home residents a new pair of PJs each Christmas, WFAA reports. But the program proved to be so popular, that every 12 months seemed too infrequent.
That’s led to her tradition of bringing “Christmas in July” to local seniors. Alch and Santa Clause took time to visit nursing homes last month to deliver new pairs of pajamas, hoping to brighten residents’ days. One of Alch’s volunteers had tears in her eyes before the day was over.
“People just need that and if we can share a little bit of a blessing with someone, if we can bless one person, it makes it all worth it,” said Krissa Shockey, Acappella’s director of business operations, told the TV station. “These people have paved our streets, they taught us to read and write, they made a difference in our lives, so it’s our turn to give back.”
