ST. PAUL - When the coronavirus hit in early March, the St. Paul & District Arts Foundation wanted to use art to bring a little joy to seniors in isolation.
The foundation launched the Hearts for Seniors project, asking young and old artists in the community to create handmade greeting cards with personal messages of support from each of the artists. The St. Paul & District Arts Foundation chose to distribute the cards to the residents of Sunnyside Manor in St. Paul.
“We looked at what we could do to provide some support and encouragement during this difficult time, and decided to connect our artistic community with the residents. Our call out was to our artists, and expanded it to include families and children in our community," said Ryan Stinn, chair of the St. Paul & District Arts Foundation. "Since May 18, 122 cards – all individually made – were created."
Organizers dropped off the card on June 18, just in time for Father's Day. Any extra cards will be held and distributed to new residents as they come to Sunnyside.
"We thought that Father's Day is deserving of some extra kindness and love. This project has been wonderful and it has warmed our hearts each time we received the cards from the community, as far away as Glendon. When we received the cards from the artists, we went through them and sorted them. The messages of encouragement and support together with the artworks are so beautiful. We are thrilled to pass them along to the residents," said Stinn.
Many of the artists mailed their cards to the foundation, while others were dropped off at Happy House, a local health food store, where they were picked up by organizers.
