BELOIT, Wis.— In a world where "due to the pandemic" rolls off tongues easier than a home phone number, it can be hard to see the bright spots some days.
But that doesn't mean it's impossible to lift each other up; actually, a new national campaign is making that a whole lot easier. One local business was determined to bring it to Wisconsin.
With the full support of Glitz and Go's owner Erin Boles, Diviniti Pulliam came up with the idea to bring the "Send a Smile: Adopt a Grandparent" campaign to her community.
For a $10 donation, a balloon bouquet will be delivered to a senior in an assisted living facility on Valentine's Day with an uplifting message. Pulliam is a party manager at the company.
"We are all going through tough times right now. And I know personally a few people that have not been able to see their loved ones in assisted facilities since March or April of last year," Pulliam says. I'm lucky to see my grandma basically whenever I want to see her. So I feel bad for people that can't. due to them being into facilities. So I decided, 'Why not bring that to our community?'"
Pulliam says she knows there are plenty of senior citizens in the area who could use a smile. And it turns out, she wasn't the only one. A handful of companies in the area have called in to adopt every single resident at entire facilities.
"Every day... the numbers go higher and higher. I honestly thought I was only going to get 20, maybe 30 people to jump on the wagon with me, but it kind of blew up overnight," Pulliam says.
More than 850 donations have been placed so far.
That's hundreds of people who will get an extra dose of love come Valentine's Day. Spreading the love, is all Pulliam could have hoped for.
"I just wanted to give back to our community; I wanted to show them that they are loved. We're still thinking about them; they are not forgotten," says Pulliam.
To donate to the adopt a grandparent program, call the store at 608-313-8460, or click here for more information. All orders must be placed by Feb. 8.