On Monday and Wednesday, Dec. 11 and 13, Lynda Fourchalk was on the road, delivering 3,100 Christmas cards crafted by school children for seniors at more than 30 locations in Langley.
Among the drop-off points for Fourchalk, the card program coordinator with the Aldergrove-based Langley Volunteer Bureau, was Meals on Wheels, the food bank, St. Dunstan’s Anglican church in Aldergrove, and residents at one seniors apartment building, where she said an organizer advised “sometimes those are the only cards they get.”
Fourchalk was impressed by the creativity of the young card makers.
“They’re all just so beautiful,” she enthused.
“This year, they used cutouts and glued things onto the cards like bells [and] one class did a little bit of braiding, like friendship bracelets, for one of the groups of seniors. Some did them on computer, a scenic thing with the person’s name on it and all kinds of different decorations.”
READ ALSO: Langley school kids create thousands of Christmas cards for seniors and others
“May you enjoy the holidays and have a wonderful new year!” was the message on one card from a student.
“Christmas is coming up soon, and I would like to find out what you do to celebrate the holidays,” another wrote. “Every year, my family makes pancakes shaped as snowmen.”
“I hope you like this card!” another said.
Teachers were encouraged to include their classroom and school to the cards, so seniors can write back.
“Some seniors like to write thank-you notes and that has resulted in a couple pen pal situations where they kept in touch,” Fourchalk shared.
“The notes that these kids write are just so sweet, you can’t help but be affected by them.”
Fourchalk said getting a card can be an emotional moment for some seniors.
One woman, she was told, began crying when she received a card on Valentine’s Day.
“She said she hadn’t seen a card written to her with the word ‘love’ on it for years,” Fourchalk recalled.
“It just shows you the impact it has.”
READ ALSO: Volunteer bureau sends hundreds of handmade Remembrance Day cards to Langley veterans
Since 2021, the volunteer bureau has delivered more than 21,000 cards to seniors in Langley, prepared by students at more than 30 schools in Langley from kindergarten through university.
The program started during the pandemic to help combat the isolation some seniors were facing.
Fourchalk said it has continued “because it’s just been so well received by teachers, students, and the [senior] facilities.”
Cards have also been sent out on Easter, Valentine’s Day, and Remembrance Day.
Langley Volunteer Bureau, also known as ‘Langley Volunteers’, is now a registered charity, formed to promote the value of volunteering and to connect volunteers in the community with organizations who need them.
Anyone who would like to register a senior or volunteer with the program can email cardsforseniors@langleyvolunteers.ca or visit langleyvolunteers.ca.