Bringing Conversations and Care Through the Cupid Crew
Caregiving is much more than making sure loved ones are getting meals, taking medications, and receiving daily care. Caregiving also means connecting with seniors to share conversations and memories. On Valentine’s Day, Lifeline partnered with Wish of a Lifetime to connect with seniors and deliver an essential part of caregiving to our community. We are privileged to partner with Wish of a Lifetime, a national organization with the mission to spread the message that aging is universal.
For many seniors whose spouses have passed away and whose social circles have grown smaller, Valentine’s Day can be a particularly difficult and lonely time. In fact, more than 15 million seniors in the U.S. are isolated and living alone. To show our community some love, we partnered with Peirce Elementary school to create a Cupid Crew and connect three generations to share conversations, memories, and roses. Cupid Crew is an annual event that brings the local community together to deliver roses to seniors who may not otherwise be recognized on Valentine’s Day.
We are committed to helping older adults live their lives independently and with confidence. By partnering with Wish of a Lifetime, which focuses on sharing seniors’ stories to inspire those of all ages, we set out to help seniors connect and share their lives and stories with a younger generation. The kids from the fifth-grade class at Peirce Elementary handed roses to seniors to show how important personal connections and conversations are for caregiving.
Some of the rose recipients shared their thoughts on the day with us:
“It’s so good for us. I really enjoy having kids visit.”
“Today’s visit was a surprise. It was really nice.”
“We were told that there would be a visit, but I forgot. I’m really glad I came to the senior center today to talk with the kids.”
“I love having fresh flowers around. I always had them at home.”
“That young man, there. He is great – so polite and so wonderful to talk to today.”
The reaction at each location the Cupid Crew visited was joyous and demonstrated the power of conversation and connecting with older adults as part of giving care. View more photos and videos from the Cupid Crew event on our Facebook page. We were honored to help brighten the day of older adults at risk of isolation and help ensure they felt socially connected on Valentine’s Day. Being able to give back locally is something we are really passionate about here at Lifeline, and it feels good knowing that our work has an impact on people right in our own community.
A very special thank you to Winston Flowers for donating the roses.
