The group Sonshine and Smiles is hosting its third Christmas in July donation drive event until July 31.
Donations will go towards around 18 nursing homes in Camden and Burlington counties with 13 drop off locations in the surrounding areas, including at Primo Water Ice on Evesham Road.
The group is asking for items like lip balm, deodorant, brushes, combs, purses, wallets, socks, hats, gloves, scarves and Christmas stockings.
This year, the group also plans on sending donations to the Autumn Lake nursing home in Cherry Hill for the first time.
Vicky Olson started Sonshine in the winter of 2020 because she saw how alone her grandmother and others were feeling in nursing homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It broke my heart that they were feeling so lonely and depressed and one of the nursing homes said ‘hey, would you be willing to do 50 stockings for us cause all our churches backed out,’ and I said sure,” Olson said. “And that ended up being 120 that first year. Now we’re up to 2100.”
After the donation drive, the group will host a packing party in August where between 50 and 60 volunteers show up to help stuff stockings.
In the time since she’s started the group, Olson has said she’s seen first hand the impact that her donations have had, like in 2024 when she handed a stocking to someone who was looking down.
“And I sat down next to him and handed him the stocking and he looked up and just looked me straight in the eye and said ‘wait, this is for me?’ And I said yes sir it is, merry Christmas,” Olson said. “And his whole demeanor changed. He sat up straight, he got a huge smile on his face.
“He just felt the impact that somebody cared for him and was paying attention.”
All the feedback she’s gotten from the nursing homes, which have limited budgets, and their staff have been equally positive.
“They will personally thank me if they see me in the building … So the fact that we’re able to help with some of these things relieves some of the burden from them,” Olson said. “And they know that it’s making a huge impact on the residents.”
While Olson does some babysitting during the week, the majority of her time is spent working on her group, which she has not turned into a nonprofit yet, but has considering doing so in the near future.
Olson hopes to meet or exceed that high this year and wants to reach half that amount during this month’s donation drive.
“I’m really hoping that we’re gonna get more this year,” Olson said. “We really are putting it out there and hoping that this would be bigger than the Christmas drive in order to get a really good head start. I’m being optimistic.”
During July, the group plans to hold a donation drive at the Mount Holly Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center on the 24th.
Part of the reason for a head start is because Olson has foot surgery planned in the fall and won’t be able to do as much work while she recovers.
Besides Christmas donations, the group also sends donations to nursing homes for holidays including Mother’s and Father’s Day, birthdays, Valentine’s and Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Easter.
