Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring motherhood, maternal bonds and the moms in people's lives.

Recognizing the impact many mothers have had, one organization is honoring and celebrating the occasion with elderly women who are spending Mother’s Day alone.

For more than three decades, Volunteers of America has honored elderly mothers in the community who would otherwise be alone on Mother's Day.

Volunteers go door to door and deliver more than 200 gift baskets across Monroe County.

“It is the sweetest event ever when you see all these deliveries and the looks on their faces,” director of communications and special events Jordynn Barnhart Sullivan said. “When they receive the gift baskets, they feel special, they feel honored and they feel remembered when they would otherwise be forgotten.”

For some residents, there is a deeper meaning behind the gifts.

“I think that their thoughtfulness is as important to me as the gift,” Marilyn McCann said. “Gift giving is important. Not everyone is able to receive the gifts. But I received that gift with the kindness with which it's given.”

A native New Yorker, McCann moved from Buffalo to live in Florida for more than a decade. She is now back in New York, but her three children are living in different parts of the country.

“They're all grown up now, so now the roles are reversed,” McCann said. “Now they take care of me. I enjoyed having my children home. We didn't have very much money. I always worked, but I worked for a nonprofit, so my salary wasn't all that great, but a lot of job satisfaction. And I think the fact that we spent a lot of time together, my children have very happy memories of playing together.”

McCann finds the role of a mom is the most important job but can often be taken for granted.

“I don't think I ever did anything for my children for appreciation,” she said. “I did it because I loved them and I wanted them to be happy and to grow up, to be productive people with character and integrity. But sometimes people need a pat on the back, let's face it. And I don't always think that's something that mothers get.”

Using Mother’s Day as a day to recognize women in many people’s lives, McCann says she is grateful for the volunteers who have stepped up to show their appreciation.

“Somebody had to do it,” she said. “Someone had to package it and decide what we might like. So I figured there were probably some goodies in there. And unfortunately, I like goodies.”

McCann says the biggest gift in life she could ever receive is the gift of motherhood.

“Being mom is a special gift,” she said. “I think for myself, I've had a lot of different jobs that I really enjoyed and got a lot of satisfaction from. But the biggest and most important one is being a mother.”