Share the love with the Brown County Library

For the fourth winter in a row, the Brown County Library is inviting its patrons to share the love this Valentine’s Day by creating valentines cards to be distributed to area veterans.

“It’s a way for people to make art and share their work and words of encouragement with veterans in our community and just spread love and kindness in a world that desperately needs more of it,” said Molly Senechal, Youth Services Librarian at the Brown County Library’s East Branch.

Valentines for Veterans is based out of the East Branch of the Brown County Library, where community members can pick up free kits with all the supplies needed to create valentines cards.

“Each one is a paper lunch bag with various materials in it — stickers, tissue paper, things like that,” Senechal said. “Anyone who is interested can take a kit with them and make as many cards as they would like out of the materials and return them to the East Branch… They are welcome to use their own supplies, too. We just wanted to provide them so that we have a better chance of getting valentines back, and also because we know that budgets are thin and people might not have the disposable income to buy craft supplies.”

Anyone is welcome to stop by the library and pick up a kit.

“It’s open to all ages,” Senechal said. “We’ve had kids doing it, we’ve had teens and we’ve had adults… We hope to get the valentines returned so that we can deliver and distribute these cards. But if there’s someone in your life who could use a greeting, feel free to give a card to them instead, regardless of whether they’re a veteran. We just want to share positive, loving messages as far and wide as we can.”

After the cards are returned to the library, they are distributed to veterans at various facilities throughout the county, including at the Milo C. Huempfner Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.

“It’s a way of showing love and kindness to someone you’ll probably never meet…” Senechal said. “It’s nice to get mail that isn’t a bill and also very respectful of the many men and women who have made tremendous sacrifices for our country… It’s a way of connecting people, even if they don’t meet, to one another in a really profound way.”

Valentines for Veterans kits will be available for pickup starting Jan. 5. All valentines should be returned by Feb. 9 to ensure they will be delivered on time for Valentine’s Day.