HENRICO COUNTY, Va. —Valentine’s Day is less than two weeks away, and Henrico County wants to share the spirit of the holiday with senior citizens.
The county is collecting homemade cards for its fifth annual "Spread the Love" event, which gives community members the chance to help those living at nursing homes or long-term care facilities feel a little less lonely during the season of love.
Henrico is encouraging community members to get creative and donate greeting cards that will be handed out at assisted living facilities throughout the area this Valentine’s Day.
Ashlee Giles, an advocate for the aging, says the response they’ve received from those who get to open the cards has been heartwarming.
"We have just gotten wonderful responses from the long-term care facilities that received these cards," Giles explained. "We've gotten beautiful pictures and great thank you cards. People are so appreciative of the work of our community members."
Henrico needs your help to top last year’s campaign, so if you’d like to participate, you’re asked to create a generic card with an uplifting Valentine’s message.
"Last year, we received almost 10,000 Valentine's Day cards, and they were amazing," she noted. "They came from children. We have Valentine's Day cards from two-year-olds with their handprint on them. They came from local artists. Our schools are really involved. Our public agencies are also really involved."
The cards will be handed out on February 10.
The deadline to turn in your card is Thursday, February 6. You can drop them off at three locations: the Henrico Government Center lobby, the Public Safety Building, and the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
