DUNEDIN, Fla. — A Dunedin woman saw a need at assisted living centers she visited on behalf of her church and decided to do something about it.

Bridgette Staffaroni gets her neighbors to donate hundreds of Christmas gifts to residents in assisted living facilities each year.

What You Need To Know

  • Bridgette Staffaroni leads the Angel Tree project at Scottsdale Villas

  • She got the idea of getting Christmas gifts for residents in assisted living facilities after visiting come for her church.

  • Residents take gift request cards from a tree and buy the gifts

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On a recent morning, Staffaroni and her Scottsdale Villas neighbors Sally Maloney, Jessie Gain and Linda Beard were going over a list of residents who would get gifts and making sure those items were put in a gift bag.

“So, on our list we have our wishes," Staffaroni said. "And we label them A, B, C and D. So, we only use the patients first name and the initial of their last name."

Staffaroni decided to spearhead this project after visiting two assisted living facility residents on behalf of the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. She discovered that many residents only got a $50 a month allowance because the rest of their income went to pay expenses.

Staffaroni said the residents had some basic needs.

“A six-pack of root beer. Wash cloths and hand towels. Cares soap and diabetic socks,” she said, listing a few of the typical things residents say they would like.

She set up a Christmas tree in the Scottsdale Villas clubhouse with gift request cards attached. It’s what you would call an Angel Tree. Residents took all the cards and came back with hundreds of gifts.

Staffaroni said she is always a little nervous that not all the gift requests will be fulfilled.

“Every year it’s a worry,” she said. “However, our community is so generous it’s never been an issue. We’ve always met their needs.”

She was touched by the response to the gifts on the first year of the project in 2022. One of the residents who got gifts was crying tears of joy.

“She was crying because she never remembered getting Christmas gifts,” she said. “And that is just so powerful. You just feel like you have to do something for a person like that.”

Staffaroni, her husband, and volunteers dress up as Santa Claus and characters from the movie “Elf” when they deliver the gifts to the assisted living centers.