Dec. 2016 News & Notes

Photo on the way!! – Decade-long holiday tradition brings residents together like family at Moss 1 Springs home

The holidays are a time to celebrate traditions that bring families and friends together. At Monarch’s Moss 1 Springs home in Albemarle, the holiday season starts with a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner at Patricia Cannon’s house where all the residents and staff look forward to delicious food. It is also a time to share the things that make them most grateful.

On the heels of the annual Thanksgiving feast at the Cannons, Moss 1 residents and staff prepare for the next big holiday with a Christmas tree and a festive party at a local church. Then, gifts for all of the residents start to trickle in thanks to an amazing community of hardworking and kind individuals who have kept a decade-long tradition thriving.

Cannon’s sister, Janie, has been a resident at the home for more than 27 years. Her sister is the reason Cannon has been spearheading a holiday gift drive to make sure other Moss 1 residents also get gifts on Christmas morning.

“I would deliver my sister Janie a lot of presents every year and noticed that her housemates did not have very much to open.  This bothered me.  I shared this information with my friends and they promised that this would never happen again. For the past 10 years or so we have made sure they were all well taken care of during the holidays,” said Cannon.

Cannon and her husband host a Christmas party in early December every year and invite all their family and friends who kindly give what they can for presents for Janie and her housemates. In the weeks leading up to Christmas Day, the group will buy all the gifts from the  wish list the residents eagerly start drafting as early as October, and wrap them and personalize them.

The “wish granters” try to focus on the resident’s interests and needs. Throughout the years, important essentials like shoes, coats, comforters, pillows, sheets and blankets have been gifted, too.  Items the house and its staff need are also gifted, including towels, washcloths, cups, DVD players, movies, stereos and CDs. 

“Patricia has been a blessing for everyone at Moss I. There are lots of smiles from her sister and her sister’s housemates whenever she comes to the group home.  We truly love and appreciate all that she does to make everyone’s life a little brighter,” admits Shelia Brown, the residential team leader at Moss 1.

“It is simply a blessing, and a calling a few of us felt to do for those who can’t do for themselves,” adds Cannon.

Everyone at Moss 1 is Janie’s family and therefore they are my family. And that includes the amazing staff, some of whom I’ve known since I was a child and have cared for my sister for more than 20 years. These ladies go above and beyond for their residents. This is just what families do. They take care of one another.”