TIME IS RUNNING OUT OT HELP ELDERLY IN NEED

People and organizations planning to give gifts for Christmas for the Elderly are encouraged to bring the gifts today or Friday so items may be delivered before the holiday.

Although donations have been arriving steadily, they are fewer this year than in past years.

Christmas for the Elderly is a joint project of the Cape Girardeau County Health Department and the Southeast Missourian. It provides a touch of holiday joy along with some much-needed items to needy elderly people in the community.

Kim McDowell, coordinator of the project for the newspaper, said several people have called and told of plans to bring gifts. But not all the gifts have arrived.

In addition to making sure the elderly people featured in newspaper stories have a merry Christmas, the program in the past has collected enough money to provide holiday gifts to a number of other needy elderly people. The health department has set aside a portion of the money in an emergency fund to be used throughout the year.

Gifts may be delivered to the Southeast Missourian at 301 Broadway or the Cape Girardeau County Health Department, 1121 Linden.

Gifts or financial donations may be mailed to Christmas for the Elderly, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0699. For more information call Kim McDowell at 335-6611.