A group of students in Texas are making care packages for the senior citizens in their community to help them feel less lonely and isolated during the pandemic. Kareena Chawla and her friends from college and hometown have been putting together the kits and delivering them to nursing homes, assisted living facilities and memory care centers where patients can’t have visitors or go outside. It started when they thought about their grandparents and how much they wanted to see each other. Then they thought about some of the other residents at nursing homes who don't have any family to even call.
As they say on their GoFundMe Page Due to COVID restrictions, several facilities have been placed on lockdown, therefore, preventing family, friends, and volunteers from visiting. As a result, residents have been feeling isolated and lonely. Our goal is to spread some love and remind the residents that we are thinking of them. Each package contains one coloring book, one puzzle book (i.e. word search, sudoku, etc.), one pack of colored pencils, a few snacks and treats, and some handwritten cards all placed in one gift bag.
So far they’ve delivered hundreds of the care packages but they're hoping to make it thousands!
"I feel like we're helping their mental health, but we're helping our mental health as well,” explains Shreena Bhatt. “I think we just like spreading happiness all around. Everyone needs to know that they're loved and wanted by other people. Right now a lot of people need a reminder even if it's from a stranger. We all are God's creations so we are His prized possessions and loved more than we can ever know".