Home Instead Senior Care is teaming up with nonprofit agencies and area retailers to sponsor the fifth annual Be a Santa to a Senior, a program that collects, wraps and delivers gifts to lonely and needy seniors in Ventura County who might not otherwise receive a gift.

Christmas trees, which will go up in chosen facilities on Nov. 14, will feature ornaments with the first names of the seniors and their respective gift requests. Shoppers can pick up an ornament, buy items on the list and return them unwrapped to the store, along with the ornament attached.

Volunteers, nonprofit workers and others will collect, wrap and distribute the gifts to the seniors.

A community gift-wrapping day will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Wed., Dec. 17 at the Simi Valley Senior Center, 3900 Avenida Simi. The public is invited to participate in the wrapping.

Gifts will be delivered to the seniors Dec. 18 through 25.

Trees will be available at the following locations:

Simi Valley: Wal-Mart, 255 Cochran St.; Simi Hills Retirement, 950 Sunset Garden Lane; Vintage Simi Hills, 5300 Los Angeles Ave.; Strathern Historical Park, 137 Strathern Place; Curves, 3885 Cochran St.

Moorpark: Walgreens, 140 E. Los Angeles Ave.

Thousand Oaks: City of Thousand Oaks, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.; Atria Hillcrest, 405 Hodencamp; Castle Hill, 3575 N. Moorpark Road; Curves, 1739 Moorpark Road; Los Robles Homecare, 68 Long Court; Oakview at University Village, 3557 Campus Drive.

Newbury Park: Curves, 2090 Newbury Road.

Camarillo: Atria Las Posas, 24 Las Posas Road.

Last year the campaign delivered more than 1,200 gifts to local seniors. Throughout North America last year, more than 26,400 volunteers distributed gifts.

Businesses are encouraged to contact the local Home Instead Senior Care office about adopting groups of seniors.

For more information or to volunteering for gift-wrapping day, call Laurie Reid at (805) 577-0926 or visit www .beasantatoasenior.com.