Helsinki Seniorisäätiö, an independent non-profit foundation, operates four nursing homes in the capital area. With Valentine's Day on the way, foundation employees had the thought that many of the residents of their homes would be get a lot of pleasure from receiving a card, on what in Finland is mainly a day for friends to exchange greetings.
"We came up with the idea of posting requests on our Facebook page and homepage for people to send Valentine's Day cards to our residents. We have just over 600 residents in our foundation’s nursing homes, and the original goal was for each to get a single card, " explains Helsinki Seniorisäätiö volunteer work planner Silva Siponkoski.
As of Thursday, the foundation had received over 6,200 cards addressed to residents of their facilities.
Sharing warm thoughts
Greeting cards have flooded in not only from around Finland, but also from abroad, some from as far away as the United States and Taiwan.
According to Siponkoski, the original intention was that everyone who sent in a card would also get a reply. Because so many have been received, that may not be feasible, but as many as possible will be answered.
"These days, many of us long for something more than just bills to come through the mail slot. Somehow it seems like this society has a need to share warm thoughts with others," says Silva Siponkoski.