WATERLOO -- Edith Richmond eagerly tore through the wrapper off her early Christmas present as fast as her 81-year-old hands would allow.

The reward: A box full of her favorite candy -- Milky Way; some slippers in her favorite color -- sky blue; and sticks of incense. A modest haul, but one that brought a big smile to Richmond's face.

"It's pretty," she said of the incense.

The gifts are a product of the "Be a Santa to a Senior" program, organized by Home Instead Senior Care. It is designed to provide gifts and a personal visit for seniors who might otherwise spend the holidays alone.

"Some will say they don't get any gifts at all, that they don't have anybody come to visit them. So even just coming and visiting with them, it's just knowing somebody cares for them," said Candy Diercks, owner of the Home Instead office in Cedar Falls.

The public can buy gifts for seniors by visiting Christmas trees at College Square Mall through Dec. 13. Seniors' names are written on the ornaments, along with their wish list.

Last week, Richmond said she still was not sure if someone will stop by to pick her up for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

"There probably will be someone getting me on a holiday, if they're not too busy. I don't know for sure, but that may be," she said.

Richmond, who is hard of hearing but skilled at reading lips, has been without family since her grandmother died years ago, said Rhonda Riley, marketing director at Home Instead.

Richmond lived much of her life without family ties. Her mother gave her up at a young age. She was raised by her grandmother until age 7, when she moved to central Iowa. Eventually she settled at the county home in Black Hawk County, where Country View care center is located.

"That's what this project is all about. It's for seniors like her, who probably won't get any other gift but the gift from this program we're running," Riley said.

Isolation is a common problem among seniors, said Patty Esch, associate director of case management at Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging. The agency has provided about 85 percent of the program's participants.

As people grow older, social circles undergo drastic changes. Friends move or died. People become less mobile and more socially isolated.

If family members don't come to visit, she said, regular human interaction may come only through home visits from those paid to care for them.

To compound the problem, Esch said, many seniors are hesitant to accept social invitations or offers of assistance.

"If someone asks them to join them, they'll decline because they don't want to intrude. They're very full of pride. They don't want to bother people and think they can care for themselves," she said.

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.