FeedMore WNY volunteer brings holiday cheer to homebound neighbors

It’s fitting that Kathy Halliday’s name sounds like “holiday.”


For decades, she has been delivering holiday cheer to the homebound neighbors and older adults served by FeedMore WNY’s home-delivered meal program in the form of handmade scarves and comfort wraps.


This year, Kathy donated more than 150 of her lightweight, microfleece scarves and wraps to FeedMore WNY.


Each item comes with a 2024 calendar bookmark and a handmade card. She estimated that it took about 2.5 months to complete all the gifts.


Instead of including her name on the cards, Kathy always signs them as “Secret Santa.”


“It’s not about me at all,” Kathy explained. “It’s for the people who need a little something. My hope is that on Christmas, someone puts it around themselves and feels that someone cares.”


Kathy began providing gifts to FeedMore WNY’s home-delivered meal clients approximately 25 years ago, alongside her mother, Nancy.

Kathy and her mother would package little gifts of personal care items for their neighbors in need.


After Nancy passed away in 2015, Kathy decided to crotchet and donate the comfort wraps and scarves as a way to honor her mother and continue their legacy of giving.


“This is a way to keep going what we started,” Kathy said. “I know my mother would just love this.”


Kathy said that we need more small acts of kindness in the world, and that she believes she gets even more happiness from making and gifting the scarves and wraps than the clients get from receiving them.


“I just hope that someone who may not have a smile is able to smile, and that someone who is sad is able to feel joy,” she said.


Thank you, Kathy, for continuing to spread joy to so many!