Reversing the status quo of Christmas gift giving, students at Booker T. Washington Elementary School have supported a campaign to brighten the lives of seniors at Autumn Care of Suffolk.

Principal David Reitz said it all started after last month’s Suffolk News-Herald story on Home Instead Senior Care’s “Be a Santa to a Senior” tree.

“We read it in the newspaper … and I forwarded the article to my staff and asked if anyone was interested,” he said.

The tree has been located at Walmart in downtown Suffolk with about 130 ornaments, each representing a senior in need of Christmas cheer, hanging from its branches.

Deneen Evans, community service representative for Home Instead Senior Care, said the names were provided by Autumn Care, which also supplied a “needs list” of items its residents required.

“We have a list of wants and needs on each ornament,” Evans said, adding that three local Girl Scout troops also selected a bunch of ornaments.

“These are items that seniors don’t have funds for once their bills are paid. Seniors are forgetful (and) they are not going to speak their minds on that type of stuff.”

Listed suggested items included lap blankets, sugar-free candy, large-print word-search books, scarves and toiletries.

Reitz said he plucked 25 ornaments from the tree and handed them out to teachers who had expressed an interest.

After the teachers and the parent-teacher association bought supplies, students also made Christmas cards with personalized messages — sure to bring a lot of smiles come Dec. 25.

Every grade level participated, Reitz said, adding that many students at his Title I school understand what it means to not have everything all of the time.

“All in all, our kids are really just a caring bunch of kids, and so are our staff,” he said. “They like helping others. … The fact we are giving back to the community, it’s not them getting something.”

Friday marked the deadline to return gifts to the front of the store. But folks can still get involved, with a wrapping party to take place noon Monday at Home Instead Senior Care’s office at 3614 Pruden Blvd., before the gifts are delivered the next day.

“The community is invited to come and wrap and get names on tags,” Evans said. “We’ll have cookies and hot chocolate.”

This was the campaign’s third year, and Evans expects the North Suffolk Walmart, and perhaps other retailers, to have trees next year.