Families have a variety of traditions during the holiday season. Whether it’s driving to the tree farm to pick the perfect pine for the living room or spending hours baking and frosting cookies, there are many ways to celebrate. For Cranston’s Hoard family who reside near Oaklawn Ave., donating gifts and spreading joy to others during the holidays has become an annual household tradition.

This act of giving began six years ago when Abbie Hoard, who attends Western Hills Middle School, took part in MINI’s Making a Difference, a nonprofit collecting toys and distributing them to a variety of charities. Abbie filled a Mini Cooper with fun items for children, and this year advanced to filling a minivan with 240 gifts that were donated to the kids at Stadium Elementary School; she has donated to the school for the past three years.

Alexis, Abbie’s eight-year-old sister who attends Glen Hills Elementary School, was inspired by her older sister’s repeated acts of kindness and wanted to do something just as meaningful. While Abbie focused on providing items for younger age groups, Alexis turned to collecting donations for seniors at Cranston’s Adult Day Services at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center.

The Adult Day Services includes 26 individuals who range from age 54 to 99. The staff provides a variety of activities for seniors including gardening, cooking, tai chi and much more. The organization has received small donations from families whose loved ones have passed and children from the St. Paul School of Cranston have written poems and cards for the seniors.

“This is probably the largest donation we’ve gotten from anyone,” said Rosemarie Coren, the Director of Adult Day Services.

Adult Day Services was not a random selection. On Dec. 23, Janice Hoard, the girls’ mom, explained to the center’s seniors that both their grandmothers – Theresa and Mary – had been with the center for twenty years. The organization held a special place in the family’s hearts, and they thought it was the perfect place to give back to.

To start the donation process, the Hoard family reached out to the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center and asked what they needed. The program, which provides services to help maintain and improve the seniors’ functional abilities, seeks to assist, inform, entertain and enrich the lives of the individuals. Therefore, the donated items related to this mission. After receiving a list of items from the organization, the Hoard family created an Amazon link and shared it with friends and family – enabling individuals to purchase items such as arts and crafts supplies and games.

While Alexis and her family gathered donations, extended family members came to Alexis’ assistance to help package the handmade gifts for seniors.

“We all got together one Sunday and once all of the donations were together we worked to have the kids make individual gifts,” said Janice.

Overall, ten children helped color 33 holiday cards and box scarves, hats and blankets into individual packages for each senior at Adult Day Services. Furthermore, the donations included items that would help seniors’ fine and gross motor skills. The 55 colored pencils, ten packs of markers and 35 coloring books donated helped work smaller muscles, which were used for writing or grasping smaller objects. Meanwhile, five large lawn games such as Jenga, Connect Four and checkers were collected and would help with the body’s whole movement so seniors were using muscles essential for everyday movement.

The family also catered to the individuals’ specific needs. For instance, some of the center’s seniors had prior careers in woodworking, resulting in the family gathering 36 wooden building kits and sanding kits that allowed them to continue that practice for enjoyment.

Finally, on Dec. 23 (just in time for the upcoming holiday) Alexis and her family delivered the donations. Janice listed the items that were being given – resulting in appreciative claps and cheers from the seniors.

“You can have some fun looking through everything Alexis put together for you,” Janice said.

Alexis, Abbie, and their two brothers – Devin and David – walked around the room handing the personal gifts to the seniors who took the packages with huge and unforgettable smiles. Everyone tried on their new accessories, thanking Alexis for her generosity. Almost instantly, the center opened Uno with seniors excited and ready to play.

What started with one girl’s desire to help led to others assisting her along the way. While sister inspired this endeavor, Alexis’ actions have surely delighted and impacted those around her. Now, how’s that for a holiday tradition!

GIFT OF GIVING: The Hoard family, with Alexis in red, hand out personal gift packages to each senior of the Cranston Adult Day Services program.

JUST HER COLOR: Rosemarie Coren, the director of adult day services at the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center assists Norma Rodu in putting on her new, handmade hat.

PACKAGING THE DONATIONS: Alexis with her siblings and cousins prepared gifts for the center; twelve children helped in total. From left to right, David Hoard, Devin Hoard, Alexis Hoard, Aubrey Ryan, Abbie Hoard, Colin Waldron, Brayden Ryan, and Aidan Waldron.