Early Saturday morning, Jared Helgeson awoke to a knock on his door only to find people — and one elf — bearing gifts and boxes of food.

While the elf was just a volunteer’s child wearing a Christmas hat, Helgeson was surprised just the same to see such an outreach—the Silver Angel Tree program — from the community.

“It’s a great program,” Helgeson said, a bit overwhelmed with his gifts, immediately trying on his new scarf. “It’s very nice, it really is.”

Helgeson was one of more than 300 disadvantaged seniors who received gifts courtesy of the Silver Angel Tree program in conjunction with The Salvation Army and the Soroptimist International of Truckee Meadows and of Reno, who in the spirit of Christmas, do not want to see anyone go left out.

“It would be so easy for low-income seniors to get overlooked,” said Carole Miller, chapter spokesperson for The Salvation Army. “It’s a nice program and sometimes it’s overlooked with the toys for the kids.”

Volunteers from the Soroptimist group loaded up nearly 104 packages of food, each weighing about 15 pounds, along with requested gifts and toiletries and began delivering Saturday morning to seniors who had signed up for the program.

Stopping at different apartment complexes around town, including the Carville Park Apartments and Sierra Manor Apartments in Sparks, the Soroptimists battled the morning’s cold and previous night’s snowfall to spread the holiday cheer.

Many recipients were waiting by their doors, expecting the coming company as greetings of “God Bless” and “Merry Christmas” were exchanged eagerly.

“I like helping people in need,” Karen Munson said, “and there are so many more people in need than there are fortunate ones.”

Gifts, which were donated and wrapped by people in the Reno-Sparks community, found their way into the bundles, some people receiving scarves, others blankets, all just a little something to brighten their day.

There were groceries, too. Each senior received non-perishable canned foods, bread and even a gift certificate, donated by Sak ‘n’ Save.

“Some of these people have nothing else,” volunteer Judie Henderson said. “It’s nice to make that difference for them.”

And many more of the program’s beneficiaries have difficulty getting out to pick up the things they need or often cannot afford to, volunteers said.

“For a lot of them, it is hard to get out,” Miller said. “It’s nice to open the gifts and food is always appreciated on a tight budget.”

For many of the volunteers, Saturday’s effort made them realize that remembering their own parents and grandparents is so important, especially during the holidays.

“Some of us have our parents alive and some of us don’t,” said Major Janice Williams, Silver Angel Tree coordinator. “And everyone loves to be able to receive a gift. It is a happy experience for everyone.”

For more information or to volunteer with the Soroptimist group, contact Munson at chefmunson@charter.net. To donate to the Salvation Army, call 688-4559 or visit www.salvationarmyreno.org.