Jennifer Urbanek is bringing a mugful of joy to seniors this holiday season.
The owner of The Hungry Cupcake coffee and tea shop in West Deer is donating Christmas coffee mugs packed with tea, hot chocolate mix, candy, lip balm, socks and stuffed animal key chains to older residents at assisted living facilities in Allegheny County.
A former art therapy teacher for area nursing homes, Urbanek said the holidays are already difficult for seniors in such facilities. Those difficulties have only been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
“They’re very isolated,” Urbanek said of the seniors. “Many aren’t even allowed out of their rooms.”
Harrison
Wednesday: Allegheny Valley Association of Churches Food Bank will be open to anyone in need from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. at 1913 Freeport Road, Natrona Heights. Pull into the center parking lot and food will be placed into your vehicle. Senior boxes are being distributed Wednesdays instead of Thursdays. Those who are not yet registered should come after 3 p.m. Proof of income is no longer required.
Kiski Township
Dec. 31: Kiski Township Volunteer Fire Company is selling 2021 lottery calendars to benefit the company building fund. Cost: $30.
Details: 724-478-4210
Leechburg
Wednesday: The free genealogy group at Leechburg Area Museum and Historical Society will meet from 10 a.m. to noon at the museum, 118 First St. Basic computer skills required. Ancestry.com and Newspaper.com are available.
For years, 91-year-old Gaby Dinman has celebrated the first night of Hanukkah at the North Strabane Township home of her daughter, Emily Mahoney.
Dinman, 91, whose family fled Germany in the 1930s as Adolf Hitler rose to power, delights in lighting the menorah, and recounting the story of the origin of Hanukkah.
The COVID-19 pandemic, though, ended that two-decade-long tradition.
âShe loves coming to the house. She loves coming for the food, she likes lighting the candles, she likes telling the story every year. And this year, she canât do that,â said Mahoney. âShe lives for this. Itâs terrible.â
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