Fairfield Twp. police officers give Birchwood residents an early Christmas

But it was more about the gifts the residents received, said Jane Genger, Hillindale’s director of community relations. It’s more about having a personal connection to the outside community, which “means so much.”

“I really think that’s important, and it helps with their lifestyle,” she said. “Yes, we care for them, and we have all these things we can do, but it goes back to ‘we need more than that.’ We can do the spiritual that we always do, and the wellness, and the social programs, but again having that connection to the outside world, that’s the important part.”

Fairfield Twp. police Detective Emma Edens, who organized this week’s gift-giving event with Detective Nic Spalding, said the Walmart community grant is applied to a group of individuals the police department feels can benefit.

“Each year, we try to be very specific with the group that we choose,” she said. Over the past few years, the grant has been used for the shop with a cop program, donated items to children, or support an organization, like the department did last year with Transitional Living in Hamilton.

This year they focused on Birchwood Care Center.

“Especially with COVID going on this year, we felt they were one of those forgot about populations that people, unless they have a family member in a facility, they don’t really know what they go through,” Edens said.

Fairfield Twp. employees and residents also contributed to the holiday celebration for the Birchwood residents, who also received a catered lunch from Walmart’s deli.

“They were very appreciative of the common things we take for granted day-to-day,” Edens said of the Birchwood residents. “It’s so important for the residents to have that (community connection), and we felt, especially this year, it was important for them that we could give them a Christmas celebration that they probably had not had in years.”