Woman, 94, seldom asks but needs help

Mrs. K. continues to live alone at age 94 although her health is declining.

She suffered a heart attack last year and has had hip replacement surgery. She uses a wheelchair to move about her Cape Girardeau home.

Caseworkers at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center say Mrs. K. is reluctant to ask for help or money when she needs it.

Yet, she would like some gifts for Christmas.

Christmas for the Elderly is a program that delivers small gifts to the community's elderly residents. It is sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian.

Recipients are referred to the program by the county health center, Hoover Eldercare Center and the Missouri Division of Senior Services.

Mrs. K. would benefit from a new dress, a scale with digital numbers in large print so she can read it, and gift certificates for meals from the Senior Center.

Gifts like paper goods and toiletry items, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoos, soap and pet foods are needed to distribute to other Christmas for the Elderly recipients. Fruit baskets, stamps or gift certificates at discount and grocery stores also would be helpful.

The Southeast Missourian is collecting gifts for Christmas for the Elderly at its Cape Girardeau and Jackson offices. The gifts should be donated by mid-December for delivery before Christmas.

Tax-deductible donations may be mailed to Christmas for the Elderly, P.O. Box 4, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0004.