{"id":95116,"date":"2021-03-03T14:08:14","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T20:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=95116&#038;preview=true&#038;preview_id=95116"},"modified":"2021-03-03T14:08:14","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T20:08:14","slug":"lgbtq-community-gifts-seniors-valentines-day-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/lgbtq-community-gifts-seniors-valentines-day-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQ+ community gifts seniors Valentine\u2019s Day cards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Yvonne Krumrey<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cRoses are red, crystals are shiny, I hope this is the best V-Day you have ever seen. This year is crazy, but I am happy if you are happy,\u201d reads a card written by a second-grader, to someone he\u2019s never met.<\/p>\n<p>His card was one of 200 that were delivered to LGBTQ seniors in Chicago last weekend, through the Chicago Black Drag Council&#8217;s Valentine\u2019s Day card drive at the LGBTQ+ supporting Town Hall Apartments, 3600 N. North Halsted St., in Lakeview.<\/p>\n<p>The council paired with Our Art of Giving, a nonprofit that brings comfort items to those in need, and five Halsted bars &#8212; Roscoe\u2019s, Replay, Sidetrack, Scarlet and Progress Bar &#8212; to orchestrate safe drop-off locations for those wanting to contribute.<\/p>\n<p>Replay, 3439 N. Halsted St., offered free Truly\u2019s hard seltzer for people who brought in cards. Progress Bar, 3359 N. Halsted St., laid out craft supplies for patrons to make cards while having a drink.<\/p>\n<p>On Feb. 5, Jo MaMa, a Chicago drag queen and co-chair of the Chicago Black Drag Council, tweeted a picture of a poster that reads, \u201cAwaken your inner artist and create a unique Valentine\u2019s Day card for a local LGBTQIA+ senior!\u201d When asked what the requirements for the cards are, she suggested that crafters simply use \u201ccompassionate common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenior members of our community are often overlooked and have been hardest hit during this pandemic,\u201d said Jo MaMa. \u201cLoneliness is such a big thing, and especially as you get older, it becomes even harder to reach out to the community and forge new bonds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While seniors struggle to forge bonds during the coronavirus pandemic, children at Bennett Day School in West Town delivered some warmth to Town Hall\u2019s LGBTQ+ seniors.<\/p>\n<p>Derry MacDermott, a second grade teacher at Bennett, used class time as an opportunity to decorate cards for the seniors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a quiet time everyday after recess, and I play some calming music,\u201d MacDermott said. \u201cAnd today we wrote letters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing is better than an 8-year-old spewing love garbage from their mouth,\u201d MacDermott said.<br \/>\nOn Friday, nearly 200 cards were collected from the bars on Halsted and delivered to Town Hall\u2019s doorstep in time for Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully this will lead to some connections to emphasize that bond, and hopefully get some communication going that will be long-lasting beyond just this one event,\u201d Jo MaMa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody loves their grandma and grandpa, and we have them here in our community, so let\u2019s make them smile.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><i>Yvonne Krumrey covers social justice at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter at <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/yvonnekrumrey\"><i>@yvonnekrumrey.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Yvonne Krumrey Medill Reports \u201cRoses are red, crystals are shiny, I hope this is the best V-Day you have ever seen. This year is crazy, but I am happy if you are happy,\u201d reads a card written by a second-grader, to someone he\u2019s never met. His card was one of 200 that were delivered [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":770,"featured_media":95121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-2020"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>LGBTQ+ community gifts seniors Valentine\u2019s Day cards - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/lgbtq-community-gifts-seniors-valentines-day-cards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LGBTQ+ community gifts seniors Valentine\u2019s Day cards - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Yvonne Krumrey Medill Reports \u201cRoses are red, crystals are shiny, I hope this is the best V-Day you have ever seen. 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