Holiday Hope for Seniors

During Holiday Hope for Seniors, which just celebrated its 10th year, the American House Foundation partnered with local area non-profit organizations to provide small gifts and household essentials for seniors in need.

Each year, employees, residents and families of American House, as well as vendors, partners and friends come together to spend an afternoon packing household items. After, and during the month of December, volunteers personally deliver these care packages to local low-income seniors.

In 2019, the American House Foundation provided 3,200 care packages to seniors in Metro Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Petoskey, Charlevoix, Illinois and Florida. 

The foundation also delivered 150 care packages to Piquette Square apartments in Detroit, Michigan. This facility houses, and works with, previously homeless veterans get back on their feet. Although not all of the Piquette Square residents are seniors, the Foundation felt it important to ensure our veterans had a special holiday as well.

During the 2018 Holiday Hope for Seniors, Ms. McBride, a resident of Pontiac, Michigan, was signed up to receive the Foundation’s care packages. When two of the volunteers arrived at her home, they took the time to have a conversation with Mrs. McBride. The volunteers discovered she had been living without hot water for some time, as her hot water heater was no longer working. The volunteers immediately reached out to the executive director of the American House Foundation and, by working together with Lighthouse, they were able to arrange to have Mrs. McBride’s hot water heater replaced with a grant. Within 48 hours of meeting the volunteers, Mrs. McBride had hot water. She no longer had to worry about her pipes freezing during the cold winter months.

About the American House Foundation

Since 2007, the American House Foundation has provided support to low income seniors. The American House Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life for older adults. By investing in outreach and research, we provide immediate resources for seniors in need today, while working to correct health and aging disparities for tomorrow.

Donations raised through the American House Foundation are used to help local seniors in many ways, including:

• Giving a walker to an 82-year-old grandmother
• Providing transportation for a 79-year-old man who’s fighting to make ends meet
• Paying for health screenings that diagnose problems before they progress
• Uncovering the causes of Alzheimer’s disease
• Providing community health forums that bring resources to those in need
• Keeping an elderly couple from having to choose between medication and meals

Where Donations Go

Many of our own American House employees volunteer their time with the American House Foundation and because of the wonderful volunteers, the foundation runs with little overhead or administration costs.  As a result, more funding is able to go directly to outreach and research. Most importantly, none of the money collect goes toward American House Senior Living Communities or its residents or families – all of the donations go directly back into the community.

About 70 percent of donations go directly to outreach and helping seniors meet vital needs, including:

• Food
• Housing
• Transportation
• Medication
• Medical Equipment

The remaining 30 percent of donations go to helping Wayne State University’s Institute of Gerontology research critical areas of aging, such as:

• Homelessness
• Depression
• Disability
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Hypertension

Donate to the American House Foundation

When you choose to give to the American House Foundation, you will change a life. For the price of a cup of coffee, or a carryout pizza, you will make an impact for a senior in need.

Your donation can..

• provide fresh produce for a senior in need.
• provide heat and/or electricity for a senior.
• provide necessary medical equipment to a senior.
• provide financial assistance to keep a senior in their home.
• provide all of the above and more.