Courtesy of Amy Ash Nixon and the Caledonian Record (2/12/22).
For the second year, seniors and home-bound residents across the Northeast Kingdom will be feeling the love this Valentine’s Day.
That’s thanks to the efforts of everyone from local schoolchildren, daycare centers, senior volunteers, Girl Scouts and many more who have been sending in valentines by the dozens and hundreds for the Northeast Kingdom Council on Aging to send out through their Meals on Wheels deliveries, said Executive Director Meg Burmeister this week.
“Last year we saw a news clip of another agency in the Midwest who were doing valentines for seniors as a way to reach out to people and we thought it was a great idea, and we decided with isolation and loneliness being such a predominant issue for everyone during the pandemic, and especially for seniors not being able to get out as much during the winter, that it was a really good opportunity to just reach out to people and share some love,” said Burmeister.
This year, the vaccines and boosters have lent a layer of protection, but there is still anxiety with the variants of COVID-19, noted Burmeister, and with the success and heartwarming response the valentines campaign saw last year, the agency decided that continuing the effort every February was a no-brainer.
The valentines are pouring in, she reported earlier this week. Last year more than 6,000 landed.
“We decided we were going to make it an annual event,” said Burmeister. “It’s really nice to reach out and say someone cares about you, and you’re not lost. From preschoolers to high schoolers and all sorts of other groups, the valentines are very sweet. We read them and it warms our hearts to look at them.”
They are being sent out in all of the home-delivered meals from the senior meal sites operated through the council, and that alone tops 1,000 valentines that will be cheering people in the coming days. They also are being distributed to area nursing homes and to other clients “who could really use some love,” she said.
Feedback last year “was really positive and really touching,” shared Burmeister. “I used a story the other day about a gentleman who had received one. It was months later and I happened to be on the phone that day and he thanked us because he hadn’t gotten a valentine in years. He doesn’t have a lot of family, he doesn’t have a lot of people in his life … and it was just a moment when he could feel cared about.
“One of the outcomes of the pandemic is we need to reach out and touch someone and don’t forget that people are there and they are alone and they are lonely,” said Burmeister.
“For us, it’s so much of this work is about people struggling and people trying to get through the pandemic and the challenges that people face as they age in the community … it is really heartwarming to see the outpouring of love and support for people in their communities.”
The hundreds and hundreds of hand-made valentines deluging the NEKCOA offices in St. Johnsbury in recent weeks “… helps us to feel like we’re not alone on the island, but there is a sense of people willing to jump in and care for their neighbors,” said a grateful Burmeister.
“The program began last year in an effort to bring a smile to those who were experiencing isolation due to the pandemic,” added NEKCOA spokeswoman, Mel Reis. “Social isolation is always a struggle as one ages. This is why we have so many programs at the NEKCOA that reach out to our elder friends and neighbors to say hello, either with a friendly visit from a Senior Companion, a telephone call from a volunteer in our Tele-Friend Program, or through our home-delivered meals program when a driver offers a friendly hello and safety check upon delivery.”
The following schools and other organizations participated in this year’s drive to get valentines to as many home bound and senior residents of the region as possible: Story Time Childcare, Lil Bits Childcare, St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, Mel’s Daycare, United Christian Academy, Island Pond Head Start, April Descheneau, Newport Elementary School (Umbrella), NEK Counseling and Aging, Balch Nature School, Macie’s Home Childcare, St. Johnsbury Academy, United Christian Academy Art Instructor, Little Dippers Doodle Childcare, Concord School, Girl Scouts Troop 30356 Lunenburg, Good Shepherd Catholic School, NEKCA Newport Child Care Center, Abbie and Travis Percy, North Country High School, OC CARES, North Country High School Athletic Leadership, Newport City Elementary School ENCORE Program, Lydia and Rayna, Nanny’s Early Learning Center, Blue Mountain Union School, Ashley Stoddard, Joann Wollrath and Phyllis Capriola, The Community Restorative Justice Center, Inc., The Sutton School,, Sarah Lydon, Tina Stoddard, RCT Transportation and the United Community Church.
