Remembering seniors alone on holidays

Organization collected 2,000 gifts for elderly residents

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When Mickey and Dee Newman died in 2020 in nursing homes of Covid – 14 weeks apart -- their daughter, Donna Johnson, was left with a memory that haunted her: there were many seniors she saw in the homes who had no family and no visitors.

A year ago, the 60-year-old Johnson, who retired from the fashion industry, started the Mickey and Dee Charitable Foundation, to collect gifts – toiletries, games, puzzles, books, blankets and clothing – for those seniors who are alone.

On Sunday, about 50 people turned out at the VFW Hall on West Park Avenue in Long Beach, all armed with gifts, to donate to Johnson’s charity. Young and elderly came in with packages they placed on round tables inside the hall, making sure all the items on each table were the same.

“I don’t know half the people here,” said Johnson, who announced the event on social media sites. People came from as far away as Brooklyn and Staten Island to deliver gifts. Six nursing homes will receive then gifts, including four in Long Beach, Johnson said.

“It all started because we lost Mickey and Dee to Covid,” Johnson said. Mickey Newman, 81, died at the Grandell nursing home in Long Beach. His wife, Dee, 79, died at another nursing home in Far Rockaway.

“We saw that there were people in nursing homes with no families,” Johnson said. “We started just dropping off little things.” Then, she said, her charity went online.

“In August, I put out an Amazon wish list,” she added. “I got a new package every single day. All I had to do was ask someone.:

The charity, Johnson said, had a goal of collecting 2,000 items Sunday. By late Sunday afternoon, volunteers said the goal had been reached.

There was a busy, festive air in the VFW Hall as people rushed in to drop off gifts.

“I always want to do something,” said Theresa Bell, 58, of Long Beach, who brought books, blankets and wrapping paper. “I have a special place in my heart for seniors.”

Bill Leahy, of Staten Island, was loaded boxes at the rear of the room.

“Look at this,” he said. “Look at the smiles on peoples’ faces.”

Misty Hennessy, 58, of Long Beach, remembers visiting her grandmother in a nursing home in Brooklyn years ago.

“It broke my heart,” Hennessy said. “There were people who had no visitors.”

Mark Bowen, 59, of Farmingdale, said he has relatives in nursing homes and always notices those residents who have no visitors. He said his high-school age daughter performs Irish tap dances at some nursing homes Bowen’s wife grew up with Donna Johnson.

He said this charity event was different from others.

“This is where you can see the end result,” Bowen said, referring to the piles of goods on the tables. Everybody can feel good for this. It’s a worthwhile cause.”