Giving a Valentine’s Day card is a simple act of kindness and love.
For the young artists taking classes at LakeStar Art Studio in Lake Oswego, making and giving away Valentine’s Day cards to those in the community who may need a message of love is a new yet cherished tradition dating back to 2021 and the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think everybody was feeling very isolated as well as literally isolated,” said Betsy Reid, who owns LakeStar and teaches visual art workshops. “I had reopened my studio right at the beginning of the pandemic and I wasn’t sure if it was a good time with everything that was going on. I just decided, ‘I’m gonna do it anyway.’
“My studio was a really great place for kids to come during that time when they were feeling so lonely. I think it was just something that came out of that feeling that we all had. Everybody was so nervous, there was this feeling of wanting to do something for each other.”
The Valentine’s Day idea originated at the beginning of 2021 when cold weather pushed everyone back indoors and feelings of isolation returned. This proved to be especially true for the elderly population in retirement and assisted living communities, where the risk of serious infection from the coronavirus kept visitors away.
“That feeling of isolation and thinking, ‘We are OK, we get to live with our moms and dads,’ I’m (telling) my students, ‘But this population, they are absolutely isolated,’” said Reid. “Coming out of the holiday season a lot of these kids didn’t get on an airplane and go visit their grandparents. I think that’s what sort of sparked the idea of making Valentines, trying to spread the love.”
For this year’s Valentine’s Day, Reid said she distributed 185 handmade cards to residents at Oswego Place and Springs at Carman Oaks retirement and assisted living communities.
“Yesterday, we actually hand-delivered them to about 15 people,” said Reid. “The looks on their faces, they were so happy. This one woman said to me, ‘If I had something to give you I would,’ and gave me a hug and … it was just so heartfelt.”
She also partnered with a fourth-grade class at River Grove Elementary School which contributed Valentines. In the future, she hopes to collect even more handmade Valentines from kids at local schools.
“Every year my goal is to reach more people and spread our love even further,” added Reid. “So, I’m confident that next year we will be making even more cards for even more people.”
Reid said that she teaches art workshops to students in kindergarten through sixth grade. At the beginning of their workshops, students would usually stop at the “Valentine station” and work on making a Valentine for a senior community member.
Reid hosts workshops for adults, as well as students, and posts updates on her calendar at https://lakestarartstudio.com.
“The thing that’s so sweet about it is you’re sending a message of love and it’s just for the sake of love,” Reid said. “I mean, honestly, yeah it sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s really the truth.”
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