There’s a new project aimed at helping Calgary seniors this holiday season.
It was initiated by a woman grateful for the support a couple of seniors gave her during a tough time in her life.
The Kerby Centre, a community facility in downtown Calgary that serves seniors, is now selling heart-shaped pins as part of a fundraising project.
The project is called The Heart of Community Campaign, with proceeds from sales of the pins going toward supporting Kerby’s programs for seniors.
Kerby’s marketing manager, Julia Moroz, came up with the idea when reflecting on the warm welcome she received after arriving in Calgary.
Moroz arrived in the city in June 2022, coming to Calgary to avoid the war in her home country.
“I am from Ukraine and when I came to Canada I was hosted by a nice senior couple who shared their house and their food,” Moroz said. “Now I wanted to help older Calgarians.”
The pins are made by a Calgary artist who fully understands Moroz’s reasons for starting the project.
“I’m Ukrainian too and I want to support seniors,” artist Olga Sem said. “Sometimes small hearts can make someone happy.”
Several of the seniors who serve as volunteers at the Kerby Centre are impressed.
“I look at it and I get a warm feeling,” volunteer Verna Harrow said. “I love it when people want to give back.”
The pins are now on sale at the Wise Owl thrift shop in the Kerby Centre and on the centre’s website.
“The beautiful golden sparkles on the pins symbolize the golden age of the people we have the privilege to serve,” Moroz said. “It also symbolizes the light which we try to bring into their lives, while helping them age well.”