Caring Lion keeps holiday giving alive

Forty years ago at Christmas time, Tom Foster’s aunt got a basket of fruit from the Belgium Chamber of Commerce and a Fredonia holiday tradition was born.

“Me and my wife took care of my aunt in Belgium, and every Christmas the Chamber of Commerce always brought her a basket of oranges or something,” Foster said. 

“I always thought how nice that was. It really meant a lot to her.”

Foster, a member of the Fredonia Lions Club, shared the idea with his fellow Lions.

“I told the Lions how nice it would be if we would do something like that,” he said.

And the Fredonia Lions annual Single Senior Gift Basket tradition was born, becoming the club’s first service project.

On Saturday, Dec. 14, more than two dozen volunteers — many of them donning the Lions’ signature yellow vests and still led by Foster — continued the tradition, packing and delivering bags to 120 local seniors who live alone.

In the early years of the project, Foster, 83, and his wife Dorothy gathered boxes and wrapped them in Christmas paper.

They and other volunteers then would gather at a heated shed at Stoney Creek Park and, organized like an assembly line, fill the boxes with food, treats, paper goods and other items, much of it donated by local businesses.

“It was a lot of work,” Foster said. “At that time, we were delivering 60 or 70. Now we’re up to120.”

A lot of work goes into preparing for the day.

Starting in October, Foster sends out letters seeking volunteers, lays out delivery routes and solicits donations for food and other items. One of his main helpers is his daughter Sharon, Foster’s wife having died in 1985.

“She does all the buying,” he said. “She knows what I need. It’s a fun deal.”

To know who should get a delivery, Foster works to keep tabs on people in the community. He maintains a list of recipients and adds to it or subtracts from it based on recommendations from Lions members.

He also keeps a close eye on obituaries.

“We pretty much know everyone,” he said.

As far as Foster knows, the Fredonia Lions Club project is unique, the Belgium Chamber’s effort having fallen by the wayside some years ago.

Inspired by his work, the Eden Lions Club in Fond du Lac County tried it for a while.

“But they ran out of money,” Foster said. “Everybody I talk to can’t believe we do this.”

To qualify as a single senior, a person must live alone or be a caregiver for someone else, Foster said.

This year’s gift bag included macaroni and cheese, two apples, two oranges, two bananas, pudding, soda, hand wipes, lotion, a deck of cards, a pad of paper, pens, a calendar and paper products.

“I just organize and let those guys deliver them,” he said.

As usual, Saturday’s deliveries went well and were a hit with the seniors.

“They were all waiting for us,” Foster said.

And the recipients, he noted, are appreciative.

“I get about 25 thank-yous a year,” he said. “For me it’s fun.

“It’s a nice gig, I tell ya.”