Community rallied together for "Adopt a Grandparent" effort
SNOHOMISH — A local family rallied the community to bring some holiday cheer to senior citizens this December.
The Schlegel family of Snohomish organized an “Adopt a Grandparent” campaign to bring holiday gift bags to the residents of Snohomish Health and Rehabilitation, a Snohomish nursing home.
“Christmas is usually about children, but seniors this year especially need to be cherished,” Tygre Schlegel said of seniors who have been particularly isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said their family “wanted to bring some light and joy to seniors this time of year, especially in 2020.” People in nursing homes haven’t been able to hug a loved one since March of this year to avoid spread of the virus.
Schlegel got the idea to organize “Adopt a Grandparent” from her business group. As a sales rep for a skincare company, she had a business meeting where a coworker mentioned organizing a similar campaign using skincare products bought at wholesale prices. With her discounted pricing as a sales rep, Schlegel hoped to do the same.
After deciding on a cozy theme for the gift bags, Schlegel spent time figuring out how much each bag would cost, and worked with the nursing home to determine how many gift bags would be needed for every resident to get one. Schlegel reached out to friends and family and posted on local Facebook pages to get sponsors for all 61 residents.
She says she was excited and surprised to see the generosity and care of so many people in the community. Within a week of reaching out to fellow community members, the project was fully funded, an undertaking Schlegel expected to take at least two to three weeks.
The generous response from the community meant the project was also able to extend to an additional facility, The Cottages at Marysville. The project “adopted” 45 additional “grandparents” there.
After the money came in, Schlegel and her family got to work shopping for supplies and assembling gift bags filled with items intended to make residents feel cozy, such as foot cream and socks.
The gift bags were delivered to Snohomish Health and Rehabilitation on Dec. 15, and the final bags will be delivered to the Marysville facility the week of Dec. 20.
“It’s an undertaking that takes time and attention, but it’s worthwhile,” Schlegel said of the project. She hopes that others consider doing similar projects in their communities and said that people want to be supportive of those in need. Even if they can’t organize a whole project like their family, people in the community are eager to contribute.
