Love for the veterans
Library-sponsored valentines project, musical entertainment part of celebration
Veterans received some love this week.
On Wednesday, Tracy Wilson, program assistant with the Cape Breton Regional Library, was at Taigh Na Mara handing out valentines made for the veterans at local library branches.
“This one is mine,” said veteran Arnold Jessome, as he displayed his valentine. “I love it.”
Jennifer Pastuck, activity coordinator at Taigh Na Mara, the veterans home and long-term care facility in Glace Bay, said she appreciates it when the community members remember the veterans.
“Some of them don’t have family so they really enjoy having that special connection from something like a kid making them a valentine,” she said. “You really appreciate that community connection. It’s wonderful that we are from such great communities that remember our seniors.”
Wilson said this was the second year for the Valentines for Veterans program which invited people into the Reserve Mines and Dominion libraries to make a valentine for a veteran.
The idea for the project came from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Valentines for Vets program.
“I thought I could adapt that (program) for the local veterans,” she said. “Anyone who came in, whether an adult or child, all the supplies were there for them to make one.”
Wilson said the valentines were detailed and it was obvious people spent time working on them.
“The ones the kids did were really cute.”
But that wasn’t the only love the veterans received this week.
On Tuesday, members of the Greenfield Elementary School choir visited the veterans and residents of Taigh Na Mara and sang love-themed songs.
“They brought in valentines and gave them to our residents after they sang,” Pastuck said. “Most of the valentines were homemade.”
Pastuck said these types of events make the veterans and residents feel special.
As well Taigh Na Mara received a package of valentines from Veterans Affairs Canada.
Since 1996, Veterans Affairs has been inviting schools and the general public to make valentines for veterans and then distributes the cards to veterans in long-term care facilities across the country in time for Valentine’s Day.
“We received about 100 and have them displayed around our DVA unit,” Pastuck added.