Wendy’s plays Santa Claus for elderly

Published 10:10 am Wednesday, December 7, 2011

 

COAL GROVE — A local business made a special holiday visit to residents at Sunset Nursing Center Tuesday.

Donning Santa hats and reindeer antlers, Wendy’s employees in Coal Grove donated a combo meal to each resident as a part of the franchise’s special “Crews in Our Communities” program. There are 19 restaurants in the franchise and each is asked to do something special for their community.

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“I live in Coal Grove, my son goes to school in Coal Grove, and I wanted to do something in Coal Grove,” said Wendy’s general manager Tammy White.

All 48 residents in the center not only received a combo meal, but also a candy treat bag.

“They were really excited,” White said. “It was really nice.”

Marketing director for the franchise, Stacie Staker, said the donation was just about giving back to the community and to spread some holiday cheer.

Activity director at Sunset Nursing Center, Kyrie Gauze, said the Wendy’s crew delivered all the meals to the residents and spent time with them.

“It meant so much to the residents,” Gauze said. “They all loved it.”

Gauze said many of the wheelchair-bound residents are not able to go out for special meals and the combination of the meal and the visitors made their day.

“It was perfect,” she said. “Everyone was smiling.”

Gauze said the residents love visitors and welcomed any community groups to become more involved and spend time with the residents.