Valentine’s Day cards flood Brookdale Hearthstone with love

MOSES LAKE — Residents at Brookdale Hearthstone Assisted Living in Moses Lake got Valentine’s Day greetings from across the country last month.

“I believe that the only states we have not received (cards from) yet are Vermont and Maine,” Lifestyle Director Imelda Broyles said Feb. 24. “We keep receiving new cards every single day. They have not stopped. My residents are in awe with every single one of the cards that we’ve been receiving.”

The Hearts Across America project started as a way for children in school classrooms to exchange Valentine’s Day cards with classes in other states or even countries, but the idea has expanded to senior living facilities, according to the project’s social media.

Brookdale Hearthstone residents set up a display table to show off the cards and a large map on the wall to mark off where they came from.

“We had, like, 40 cards from Ohio (alone),” Broyles said.

The cards rolled in from local sources as well as across the country. Moses Lake Christian Church sent some cards, and community members stopped in at Plume, a small business in downtown Moses Lake, to create cards for the residents, Broyles said. My Little Sunshine daycare children sent cards and gifts for the residents at both Brookdale Hearthstone and Avamere, said owner April Rodriguez.

“We gave them roses and little boxes of chocolates,” Rodriguez said. “My kids like to make cards, and we like to give it to the seniors because sometimes they get forgotten.”

“No resident (went) without a card, a chocolate and a Beanie Baby,” Broyles said.

The whole thing grew far beyond what she expected, Broyles said.

“It started with just hoping to receive Valentine’s cards for the residents who don’t have anybody (nearby),” she said. “(It grew to) an amazing amount of cards that everybody has been receiving and opening, and all of the love that we have received, not only from the Moses Lake community, but the whole United States.”

My Little Sunshine makes holiday cards and gifts for the residents of senior living facilities regularly, Rodriguez said. They sent cards at Christmas, and now they’re working on Easter goodie bags as well.

“We don’t want (the seniors) to get forgotten,” Ramirez said. “We want them to feel loved, even if they’re strangers.”

    Residents at Brookdale Hearthstone set up a map on the wall to track where their valentines came from.
  

    Every resident at Brookdale Hearthstone received at least one valentine as part of the Hearts Across America project.