Each year, millions of people spend their holidays confined to institutions ... and, as our population ages, that number is increasing. Many of these people have outlived relatives and friends, or for some, those people have moved far away. Life can be a lonely experience with few opportunities to make a difference.
At the same time, many other people look for ways to make their holidays more fulfilling ... ways to return themselves to the true spirit of the season. The Holiday Project provides an opportunity that satisfies both these needs.
The Holiday Project is a national nonprofit organization comprised of thousands of volunteers who visit with thousands more people spending Christmas, Chanukah and other holidays during the year confined to hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions. What makes The Holiday Project so special is that our visitors not only contribute to others, they also allow others to contribute to them.
Most Holiday Project visits occur in nursing homes because that is where people who have the greatest need reside. Each community Chapter chooses the facilities where volunteers visit. In some communities, volunteers also visit with people who reside in Independent and Assisted Living, hospitals, psychiatric institutions, group homes, and even prisons.
The first Holiday Project Visit occurred on Christmas Day, 1973 when eight people joined together in San Francisco to visit patients at Laguna Honda Hospital. Afterwards, as the volunteers enjoyed lunch together, they decided, the following year, they would do it again and ask others to join them.
For the next seven years, more and more people, in communities all over the United States joined in what was then called The Holiday Hospital Project. In 1980, the Board of Directors decided to register as a 501(c)(3) non-profit called The Holiday Project. Participation continued to expand. At the pinnacle of its growth, in the mid-80s, Holiday Project volunteers were organizing Visits in 36 states.
In this, our 30th year operating as a non profit organization, The Holiday Project remains committed to ensuring that people all over the country, people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and economic, levels have the opportunity to contribute to each other and bridge the gap between generations through our program of volunteers visiting people in institutions.
Read stories from local chapters.
Get Involved:
Donate Money, Gifts or Time to The Holiday Project.
Find a Holiday Project chapter near you. (If there is no chapter near you, consider starting one!)
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Source: http://www.holiday-project.org/
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