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NANTICOKE &mdash; With Christmas just a few days away, a group of carolers from the Greater Nanticoke Area marching band and the St. Faustina Youth Ministries took it upon themselves to spread a little holiday spirit to those who need it most.
				The group made two stops in Nanticoke on Sunday afternoon, Guardian Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and Birchwood Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, to sing Christmas carols outside the windows of the two centers so that the residents inside could get a taste of the holiday season.
				&ldquo;We wanted to lighten the spirits of the residents here up with some music,&rdquo; said Katie Downs of Geisinger Home Health. &ldquo;So I started asking around, and we got our groups here to sing.&rdquo;
				Around 15 people (and one excited dog) made their way around the outside of the Guardian building, going from window to window belting out holiday tunes like &ldquo;Jingle Bells,&rdquo; &ldquo;Frosty the Snowman&rdquo; and more. 
				It was a small token of love and appreciation in a year ransacked by COVID-19, which of course had its effects on Sunday&rsquo;s caroling.
				&ldquo;Last year, we went inside and sang for everyone,&rdquo; said Sandy Repak from St. Faustina Parish. &ldquo;This year, obviously, we weren&rsquo;t able to do that, so we&rsquo;re doing the next best thing.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;We originally were going to have the band bring instruments, but they would have had to take their masks off to play them,&rdquo; Downs said.
				Even without the instruments, the students (many of whom belonged to both St. Faustina and the high school marching band) were loud and cheerful for the men and women living at Guardian.
				Through the windows of the building, residents could be seen waving and singing along to the music. Some of them were able to open up their windows a bit to hear the music better.
				The group ended their tour around the outside of the Guardian complex in the center&rsquo;s courtyard, finishing on a high note with a rousing rendition of &ldquo;The Twelve Days of Christmas.&rdquo;
				From there, it was over to Birchwood Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center for another round of caroling.
				Downs said that she had done a similar caroling event at Timber Ridge Healthcare Center, and she hoped to do a few more even after the holidays are over.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been such a hard year, this is the least we could do,&rdquo; Downs said. &ldquo;You could tell how much this lifted them up.&rdquo;

Carolers spread cheer