As Valentine’s Day nears, the Buffalo Grove Police Department and Vernon Area Public Library are collecting “Hearts for Heroes” to honor first responders, health care workers and veterans, and in a separate effort, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Deerfield, is also collecting “Valentines for Vets” for hospitalized local veterans.
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“Our service members and veterans served our nation to protect us and everything we love. We owe them an immense gratitude and must never take them for granted,” Schneider wrote in an email to Pioneer Press. “Not every veteran is fortunate enough to have a family nearby, so Valentines for Veterans is a great way to give the community an opportunity to connect with a veteran and thank them for their service.”
This is Schneider’s sixth year hosting the program, which in prior years collected more than 1,000 Valentine’s Day greetings from area school children and residents.
“I hope that the hundreds of handwritten cards we collect this year will bring a little love and joy to our veterans recovering at the Lovell Federal Health Care Center,” Schneider said.
Valentines for Vets are being collected in the drop box outside his district office in Lincolnshire. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 11.
Nearby, the Vernon Area Public Library, at 300 Olde Half Day Road in Lincolnshire, has equipment to print out special Valentine’s Day cards or share a template with patrons via email, officials said.
Library staff said they sold out of several hundred “Hearts for Heroes Kits” distributed in recent weeks at the library’s youth service desk. But librarians can still print out card templates that read “Valentines for Vets,” “Hugs for Healthcare Workers,” “Feeling Grateful for First Responders,” and “Messages for Mail Carriers.” Area residents are encouraged to send a message to their favorite local heroes and drop it off in the box at the Buffalo Grove Police Department, which partnered with the library on the initiative.
Also, pre-printed cards can be picked up from the Buffalo Grove Police Department, 46 Raupp Boulevard, through Feb. 6.
“This is the second year the Buffalo Grove Police Department has participated in the Valentine’s Day event,” crime prevention Officer Amy Cholewa said in an email to Pioneer Press.
She said the police department will collect the Valentine’s Day cards through Feb. 6. Then, library workers will collect them and distribute them to veterans, first responders, mail carriers, health care workers and others.
She said the police department collected several hundred Valentine’s Day cards last year.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.