Emporia Art Center project sends valentines to seniors
The Emporia Arts Center's "Project Share the Love" collects handmade valentines for residents of senior living communities.
Remember stuffing valentines into your classmates’ shoeboxes? An Emporia Art Center project replicates that experience on a community level for the residents of five senior living communities.
Project Share the Love is an annual card drive that collects over 300 handmade valentines from Emporia-area residents of all ages. Grade school-level artistry is encouraged, so folks bust out their markers, stickers, and glitter to make simple yet impactful gestures of love.
“I thought it would be a great way to put some positivity into our community,” cardmaker Evie Simmons said. “Also, I love any excuse to get out a glue stick and make something.”
EAC education and outreach coordinator Sadie Ayer said it feels good to spread the love.
“It’s a little thing that means more than you think it would to a lot of people,” she said. “It’s nice to give that little note and be like, ‘Hey, somebody is thinking of you.’”
— Linzi Garcia is an Emporia-based poet and writer.
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