Members of the Newmarket Lions Club came bearing gifts to several long-term care facilities on Monday.
The local service club donated 13 tablet computers to residents at Mackenzie Place, Eagle Terrace, Alexander Muir and Southlake Residential Care Village to help them keep in touch with friends and family with video chats during this unprecedented holiday season.
The Lions also donated special stands to hold the computers so they can be set up without residents needing to hold them.
The service club has been supporting long-term care home residents and staff since the pandemic's early days with donations of snacks and other goodies. But Brian Rudderham said the Lions decided they needed to do something extra special this time around.
"With this thing dragging on, and things anticipated to get worse before they get better, we thought we should do something a little different," he said.
"So we reached out to the homes to see if they felt they had a need for communal-access communication devices so that residents who don't have their own can do Zoom calls or video conferences with their families."
The homes said yes, so the Lions gave each facility two devices, along with a cover and a stand. Southlake Residential Care Village received seven since it is such a large facility. The club members brought a variety of smaller gifts, as well, based on a list of things residents needed.
The devices were purchased with money from the club's regular fundraising efforts. But because of how many projects had to be cancelled or scaled back this year, Rudderham said more money was available to buy the high-end devices.
"It cost a little bit of money, but it was something we felt would have an immediate impact on their quality of life."
The next project the Lions Club is working on is its annual Santa Fund, which last year provided 1,100 families with gifts and necessities during the Christmas season.
