Students show love to seniors
Published 8:28 pm Friday, February 12, 2016
Suffolk Sheriff’s Deputy Sandy Toby gives a Valentine created by a student at Elephant’s Fork Elementary School to Elnora Beamon, a resident at Autumn Care, on Friday during a community outreach.
The Suffolk Sheriff’s Office visited the Autumn Care nursing home Friday and left a sea of red and pink in their wake, courtesy of students at Elephant’s Fork Elementary School.
The children crafted the cards with hearts cut from construction paper and foam, stickers, lace and words like “Be Mine.”
One blind student even used a Braille writer to write “I just wanted to say I love you.”
Students from Elephant’s Fork Elementary School deliver valentines to Suffolk Sheriff’s Deputy Sandy Toby, in the back row, to be handed out to residents at Autumn Care. In back, from left, are Anna Gomer, Storey Grooms, Caden Randall, Christian Randall, Deputy Toby, Kenzie Mast, Sophia Wilkerson, Jordan Pridgen, Tatum Reiken, Ashlyn Dailey, Jaravion Faulk, Madison Pursel, Javion Wilkerson and Brandon Major. In the middle, from left are De’Ryah Artis, Maurice Dixon, Shamar Ward,Mar’Kasia Morrow, Mark’Keana Morrow, Assata Horne, Authenic Smallwood, Joey Lowry and Shymik Robinson. In front, from left, are Duntoris Hawkins, Yair Garcia and N’ky Benjamin.
“This is just a partnership we have,” said Caren Bueshi, a teacher at Elephant’s Fork. She said some students included words like “grandma” and “grandpa” on their cards, assuming the recipients would likely have grandchildren of their own.
The sheriff’s office, which is partners-in-education with the school, also has unofficially adopted Autumn Care for service projects. The Valentine’s project was a good way to make a connection among the three groups and multiple generations.
“We enjoy doing it as much as they do,” said Katie Jones, a civil process secretary with the sheriff’s office.
Jones and deputies Sandy Toby and Tommy Salmon made their way through the hallways on Friday to make their special deliveries.
“Knock, knock,” they said as they entered the rooms. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
The deputies handed a card to each resident and sometimes chatted for a moment before moving on to the next room.
They even found a blind resident to receive the special Braille card, which included raised hearts as well as the sentiment of love.
“What I think is special is all the kids made the cards for people they did not know,” Jones said. “It shows love and kindness. We can definitely learn from a child.”
