Costa Howard Partners with School District 44 to Bring Student Art to Seniors, Urges Residents to Give Back to Older Residents

LOMBARD – State Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Ellyn, is thanking the students of School District 44 for sending beautiful, handmade greeting cards to homebound seniors – and she urges local adults to follow the students’ example of community service.

“All of us could use a reason to smile during this time, but those who are living alone or self-isolating are especially in need of some extra cheering-up,” Costa Howard said. “So I reached out to the students and faculty of District 44, to ask if they could spread a little sunshine to our seniors.

“They rose to the challenge, producing hundreds of cards, letters, and pieces of art to let our senior neighbors know that we’re thinking about them and wishing them well,” she added. “I was blown away by these students’ incredible response, but I shouldn’t have been surprised – our community always steps up in times of need.”

As the COVID-19 stay-at-home order continues, Costa Howard is encouraging all residents to show extra consideration to our seniors, whether by respecting designated seniors-only shopping hours at local grocery stores, or volunteering to deliver meals to homebound seniors, or simply checking in by phone with older neighbors and loved ones.

Because many local organizations that help seniors have been short of volunteers since the shutdown began, Costa Howard urged residents who are healthy and want to help to visit givingdupage.org/volunteers to find out where they are most needed.

“These days, small gestures of kindness mean so much,” Costa Howard said. “By taking the time and effort to make seniors feel special and cared for during this incredibly difficult and isolating time, our students brought joy to people’s lives and made a great contribution to our entire community. Now the rest of us can follow their example and reach out to neighbors in need. I hope our healthy residents will visit Giving DuPage’s website to learn more about how they can volunteer their time and resources as we work through this crisis together.”