A West Virginia Wesleyan College Service Scholar project has connected some of Upshur County’s youngest residents with elderly residents to spread some Valentine’s cheer.

Matthew Hatfield ‘28, of Oceana, West Virginia, is a Service Scholar through West Virginia Wesleyan College’s Center for Community Engagement and Leadership Development. His site placement this academic year has been Tennerton Elementary where he spends six to 10 hours assisting school counselor Suzanne Bohman with everyday tasks, taking on responsibilities of projects for the students and helping mentor some students.

Hatfield brainstormed the Valentines as a service project for students.

“When I started this project, my main intention was to bring smiles to those in nursing homes,” he said. “I have family members in nursing homes and I have since realized how lonely being in a nursing home can actually be. Of course, the residents see the employees, but not every resident is fortunate enough to see all their family. I wanted to educate the kids on the importance of being there for the wise.”

Hatfield asked students from kindergarten through fifth grades to make cards for the residents on St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Third Floor and at Holbrook Nursing Home and Serenity Care. He printed about 300 cards to make sure residents received two each and delivered them to the facilities on Valentine’s Day.

“When I first got the cards I went through each and every card reading them and some cards warmed my heart. I read some cards that had a paragraph on them, I saw some that had colorful drawings. I wanted to bring warmth, joy; happiness to the faces in the nursing homes. We always hear of the bad things that go on in the world. I think it’s time that we flood the world with kindness, smiles, hugs and a simple card. It may not have been a big deal to some people, but I believe my goal was accomplished, and that was for the residents to have a smile on their faces again.”