Jammies for Grammies gift campaign expands to 9 Nova Scotia seniors' homes

Patricia MacNeil and her family started Alyssa's Angels and the Jammies for Grammies Christmas campaign at one seniors' home in 2020 as a way of honouring her daughter, who had died of cancer earlier that year.

MacNeil, from Lower Sackville, N.S., said shehad no idea how big it would grow in a few short years.

This year, the campaign provided 754personalized pajama gift packages to seniors in nine seniors' homes, including Northwood.

MacNeil's daughter, Alyssa, died of a brain tumour in January 2020at age 22 after battling health challenges since she was three-years-old.

Mainstreet NS8:16Halifax woman donates pajamas to seniors in honour of late daughter

Every year, Patricia McLean runs a Christmas pajama campaign for seniors called Alyssa's Angels, in honour of her late daughter, Alyssa. McLean joins host Jeff Douglas to talk about how the pajama drop-offs went this year.

During COVID-19 restrictions, family members were cut offfrom the interactions that might have helped them withtheir grief.

MacNeil said the idea for Alyssa's Angels and Jammies for Grammies came out of that grieving period and was a wayto keep Alyssa's memory alive.

"If you were on Alyssa's Christmas list, you got jammies for Christmas," MacNeil said. "You just knew it.

"She loved to give pajamas.... It was kind of a joke around here. So we picked a small seniors' home and we thought, well, we'll do one wing."

Alyssa had an affinity for small children and seniors so the idea was a perfect fit, MacNeil said, adding that grampies are also included despite the name.

Gratified by the success of their first year, MacNeil heard from more people wanting to get involvedfor the next year, so she posted about it on her Facebook page.

The second year, the project was able to provide gift packagesto four seniors' homes.That grew to seven by 2022.

This year,they worked with the RCMP to distribute presents in Enfield and also partnered with two Sobeys stores, MacNeil said.

She said she and agrowing team of Alyssa's Angels volunteers hopeto expand the project even further and are looking at seniors' homes toward the Annapolis Valley and along the South Shore.

She said the project has reached the point where finding space is becoming an issue with her home crammed with stacks of presents prior to distribution..

"I don't wanna say too much yet becauseI'm gonna need a new place to keep the jammies when they start coming in." she joked.

MacNeil said each gift includes a personal greeting and the group raises money to providecustompajamasfor people who have unique requirements.

She said each home also receives a basket that may include lap quilts for people in wheelchairs, slippers, puzzle books and candy for the nurses.