A pile of colorful rocks. Courtesy/LARSO

By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Executive Director
LARSO

As this period of isolation continues, we find some of our elders in need of a morale boost. 

My motto through this time has been the old adage, light work for many hands, so the senior center’s next phase of effort will have us preparing care packages. These are for our senior citizens who could use a bright spot in their day.

If you are able, we’d love to have store bought individually wrapped treats or candies, sugar free ones welcome, too. Could you provide mini sodas, water bottles, or bottled juices or teas? Hydration is very important during this time for people of all ages, so sometimes we need to get creative for how to accomplish the goal.

We would love those word search crossword puzzle magazines or newish jigsaw puzzles, some still sealed would be ideal for special cases. Do you have new decks of cards, relatively new magazines or books? Do you have any blank cards and matching envelopes that might encourage them to put pen to paper? We should all be journaling about this time.

We are asking that you don’t just drop off old, garage sale type items. We don’t have the room to store them and our free table is on hiatus for the foreseeable future.

Handmade cards or drawings, add a name and the age if they are children. In a perfect world I would love some pet rocks! I would love small art creations put on smooth stones or nice sayings painted on them. We will make mini gift bags and get them to our seniors who need a boost.

Donations can be made to the centers to cover unexpected costs. We simply mean small donations of $5, with checks made to LARSO and Senior Services in the subject line. This allows us to pick up small items that could make someone’s day. Great kindness can be shown in many ways.

Grocery wise, we currently look for the donations of hand sanitizer, the bathroom pump soap dispensers and bottles of rubbing alcohol. Those donations are always needed and can be distributed daily.

As we look forward to a period of coming together, there are needs yet unknown. We thank the community for helping to keep us ahead in this game.

Questions may be directed to 505.662.8920. Adults 60 and older can join LARSO for free.