More than 60 seniors in Cape Girardeau County will be on the receiving end of Christmas gifts this year through the Cape Girardeau Jaycees's Christmas for the Elderly program.

Tracy Haggerty is chairwoman for the program that combines local donations and grant funds from the Senior Citizens Service Board of Cape Girardeau County to help out the elderly in the area. Oftentimes, Haggerty said the "gifts" the program bestows on seniors are necessities.

"Many of them just lack basic needs that we all take for granted," she said.

It can be as simple as money for medicine, warm clothes for the winter or paying the electric bill, Haggerty added.

Christmas for the Elderly has been in operation for more than three decades. It's a sister program to the Jaycees's Toybox program, which provides area children with gifts.

Organizers work with numerous local agencies, including nursing homes, to come up with a list of senior citizens that need extra help around the holidays. The Jaycees then purchase gifts or use donated items to meet those needs.

Many seniors often struggle, particularly around the holidays, Haggerty said. More than 10% of people older than 65 lived in poverty in the U.S. in 2021, up from 8.9% in 2020, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

"We're kind of filling a void for them, and they're so, so appreciative of those items because, again, we take them for granted," Haggerty said. "But for them, some of those are a luxury."

The program gives to those who often lack a family support system to help them pay for essentials, Haggerty said.

Because of recent influxes of illness, Haggerty said organizers prefer people choose monetary donations over physical gifts, to reduce the possibility of the recipients being exposed to illnesses.

The chairwoman said the goal is to get around $8,000 to $10,000 in public donations to meet the needs of the seniors this year. The deadline to donate is Wednesday, Dec. 14, and gifts will be delivered to the seniors the following weekend.

Donations may be delivered to the Southeast Missourian offices at 301 Broadway in downtown Cape Girardeau or mailed to Cape Jaycees, P.O. Box 4, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701.