Heavy headlines and the dreariness of winter got Kacie Sinclair thinking of ways to brighten the days of the 19 elders who live at the Ochekwi Sipi Cree Nation Personal Care Home on Fisher River Cree Nation, an hour north of Winnipeg.
The activity director saw a care home in the U.S. looking for Valentine’s Day greetings for residents and she thought, why not do the same?
“With winter and it’s kind of isolated around this time and we just want to brighten everyone’s day with some Valentine’s cards and spread the love,” Sinclair told Global News on Jan 20.
They put up a map of Canada and looked forward to pinpointing all the places they received cards from.
No one was prepared for what followed.
Every day since, the Fisher River post office has filed bins upon bins for the care home staff to pick up.
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“We’ve got more than 2,000,” Sinclair said.
And each elder has a basket stuffed full of greetings.
“I’m 71 years old and it’s the first time I’ve seen so many Valentine’s,” resident Olga Ross says. “We’re going to be busy reading.”
Thanks to the internet, the story made it overseas and folks from Japan, Thailand, the U.K., Australia and Spain sent care packages.
“I had no idea this was going to be the response,” Sinclair says. “It’s so amazing the love we’re being shown.”
One greeting was extra special for Hilda McKay.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, my best for a lovely day, love Laura,” McKay reads from a card. “I lost a girl — her name was Laura — last year.”
While the care home promised to send love back to everyone who took time to drop a note, Sinclair says they’re a bit overwhelmed.
“We will get you your Valentine but we just got to do some catching up,” Sinclair laughs.
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