Cochranite Paul Singh wants to help ensure seniors in the community are not forgotten through the holiday season because of the strict COVID-19 measures in place.

In a follow-up to an effort to provide festive Christmas dinners, he's now collecting bottles to provide gift cards purchased from local businesses.

Thanks to the generosity of Gourmet to Go Catering, located at the Cochrane RancheHouse, he was able to offer 10 free Festive Christmas dinners on a first-come-first-served basis to seniors who will be away from family and loved ones through the holiday season.

It took less than three hours on Dec. 6 to received 14 nominations, and he opted to pay for the other four meals himself.

Singh will be delivering the festive Christmas meals on Dec. 23.

He has also been directing others to consider participating in the annual Jingle Mingle Over Soup on Christmas Day. The third annual free event is a drive-thru event that runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Cochrane Alliance Church. Participants will receive hearty homemade soup, yummy fresh bread, and delicious sweet treats.

You can let them know you plan to participate by getting your free ticket here.

The bottle drive will spread further Christmas joy to seniors left alone. The plan is to buy as many gift cards as possible from local businesses with the money raised from the empty bottles.

"I came up with the idea of how we can support our local businesses at the same time as supporting our seniors at Christmas," says Singh. "So, I'm collecting bottles over this weekend and next weekend."

He appreciates the ongoing support for the bottle drives he has staged to support various worthy causes. This is his fifth one since the summer, and with each, many residents have been eager to lend their support.

"They've already started leaving bottles at the end of my driveway, which is kind of cool."

Even if you have one bottle, it is appreciated.

"It's not about the quantity, it's about your spirit in which you contribute. Even if you have just one can, please don't hesitate to say 'Hey Paul, I have a bottle' or whatever, we'll pick it up. So, please anything to support the cause is appreciated."

Today, volunteers will start to pick up the bottles. Most will be collected over the next two weekends.

You can reach Paul through his Facebook page here.