Norwood Christmas for the Elderly Program Prepares for Seventh Annual Holiday Outreach Despite Inflation-October 30, 1980

Committee Chairman Paul Ward Announces Continued Holiday Drive Supported by Major Sponsors and Local Schools

Despite facing a $1,000 funding shortfall due to several local merchants being forced to withdraw support amid economic pressures, committee chairman Paul Ward announced that Norwood’s beloved Christmas for the Elderly program will return for its seventh consecutive year. The annual initiative requires approximately $5,000 to fund its comprehensive holiday outreach, which served more than 2,000 senior citizens last year.

While individual donations of $5, $10, $20, and $25 remain the backbone of the campaign, the committee secured crucial backing from six major $500 sponsors: Analog Devices, Faded Glory, Roache Brothers Supermarkets, Charlestown Savings Bank, the Norwood Elks, and Plymouth Rubber, alongside roughly $500 worth of food donated by the John Sexton Co. Mail solicitations to bolster the fund are scheduled to go out this weekend.

Month-Long Holiday Schedule Features Cinema Matinee, Elks Dance, and Grand Dinner at Concannon’s

Operating entirely on private contributions, the committee’s packed holiday schedule includes community-wide engagement across schools and local organizations:

• Student Contributions: Beginning this month under the direction of George Usevich, elementary school children will collect small holiday gifts for residents in local nursing homes and patients at the Veterans Administration hospitals in West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain. Ward emphasized the profound emotional impact of these visits, noting, “It’s not so much the gift as it is the fact that someone shows they care about them.”
• Dec. 13 Cinema Matinee: Children gain admission to the annual special matinee at the Norwood Cinema—featuring popular second-run hits like “Star Wars”—by bringing a gift donation, with Ward hoping to draw at least 800 young attendees.
• Dec. 13 Elks Dinner-Dance: Adults can attend a special dinner and dance at the Norwood Elks Club for a $3 admission charge plus a gift donation.
• Dec. 20 Grand Dinner at Concannon’s: The celebration culminates in a sit-down holiday dinner from noon to 5 p.m. at Concannon’s Restaurant on Nahatan Street, featuring live performances by recording artists Hines and Company, the Clan Sutherland Bagpipe, Fife and Drum Marching Band, and the Best School of Dance Troupe. The event will be broadcast live over WJMQ for homebound seniors, with guest appearances anticipated from Governor Edward J. King and Cardinal Humberto Medeiros. Tickets are available through the Norwood Council on Aging drop-in center and the Norfolk County Day Activity Center.
• Christmas Eve Outreach: The holiday effort concludes on December 24 with the distribution of as many holiday food baskets as funding permits to home-bound and ill senior citizens across town.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger