Volunteers at the Good Samaritan – Marley House, an inpatient hospice house in Prescott, Ariz., are joining the fight against COVID-19. Their weapons? Notecards and tissue paper.
Heather Seets, volunteer supervisor for the Marley House, explains.
“One thousand people live in senior living communities, group homes, assisted living and long term care in the Prescott area,” Seets says. “Their families cannot visit due to the coronavirus pandemic. They are lonely.
“On the other hand, the people who volunteer at the Marley House cannot provide their usual services,” Seets says. “Let’s bring them together.”
Enter the 1,000 Hearts Campaign. The idea is to think big, act big and move quickly. Volunteers handwrite cards that they pick up at the Marley House. A few days later, they drop off their cards and pick up the next project — tissue paper flowers.
“They have been awesome and responded with such heart!” Seets says. “It really has been great to see how we have been able to keep the volunteers busy so they are not sitting at home and worrying and also meeting the need of bringing joy to our friends who are ‘locked in’ at this time.”
“The volunteers have responded with such heart!” Seets says.
‘That’s how we share God’s love’
On a windy Wednesday, Seets stands in the parking lot of the Marley House with bags of supplies for the flowers. Each volunteer drives up at a scheduled time, drops off his or her notecards and picks up a bag of supplies for the tissue paper flowers.
They drive away to cheers from other Marley House employees who have come to thank them for pitching in. Seets has employees lined up to deliver the cards and flowers later.
“At the Society, we believe that everyone needs to feel loved, valued and at peace as they age,” Seets says. “That’s how we share God’s love with our community. I feel very blessed to be able to make a little lemonade out of the current lemons and we are all praying for continued safety, health and love for our community!”
Thank you for the outpouring of love across the country for the mission of the Good Samaritan. Today, we need you now more than ever. If you are looking for a way to make a difference for this vulnerable mission, please consider a gift today.
