When Chandra Bradley learned about a neighborhood group on Facebook and its charitable mission she wanted to get involved.
Platte City residents in the Facebook group wanted to celebrate Halloween by giving out candy to nursing home residents.
Bradley liked the generous gesture but didn’t think it was a good idea because of the senior’s special diets. She suggested that seniors might fare better with other gifts for the holidays.
“I gave them a list of items that we could deliver including lotion, Vaseline, toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair brushes, combs, body wash, throw blankets, socks and deodorant for men and women,” Bradley said.
The neighborhood group loved the idea. Bradley and her friend, Andrea McCoy, began organizing the endeavor and invited people in the group to help deliver the items to nursing homes and invited them to send their phone numbers if they wanted to volunteer.
“One of the members, Dawny Knott, was just commenting on a text and without even knowing it she came up with the group name, Nursing Home Squad,” Bradley said. “From there, items started coming in.”
The group met at the Platte City branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library to package the items and went to Hillview Nursing Home on Dec. 16 and Heritage Village on Dec. 23 to deliver the gifts.
“We served desserts and punch, laughed, talked, sang and visited with the residents,” Bradley said. “Andrea and I worked side-by-side countless days and nights organizing to make this a success.
Phyllis McCoy, the aunt of Andrea McCoy, provided the food and drinks. She enjoys baking and wanted to help the organization in a unique and special way.
Bradley is also on the Servants’ Heart Team at her church and the group delivers needed items to four nursing homes every month.
“I was trained there and I’m still getting training in how and what to serve to residents,” Bradley said. “This is a passion of mine though.”
She also operates an in-home daycare center.
The Nursing Home Squad’s mission is to provide caring companionship to seniors who may not have family who visit them. The squad also want to ensure the nursing home residents have items they may have run out of or are not able to afford on a regular basis.
While the recently organized group’s first charitable events were the Christmas celebrations where residents received gifts that included individual throws to keep warm this winter, the squad is hoping to continue hosting special events throughout the year. They want to focus on holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day to help seniors feel special and loved.
Bradley’s passion for helping people feel loved has been a lifelong trait.
“At a young age, I always helped people and continued as an adult,” Bradley said. “My husband and I became foster/adoptive parents about 10 years ago and I just have a love for people. I also see how lonely the elderly get and want them to know they are not forgotten and I hope as I age, someone would think of me.”
The squad is hoping more and more members of the community will become interested in volunteering their time for special senior events.
“We would like our community to help out because the residents need us more than we know,” Bradley said. “They are forgotten more than we imagine. The team needs any and all donations so we can continue to reach out to our local nursing homes not only at Christmas, but throughout the year.”
The Nursing Home Squad members are well aware that local seniors fight loneliness on a daily basis and holidays can be particularly difficult.
“When we went to Hillview, two residents asked why we were leaving so soon,” Bradley said. “That broke our hearts. We took the time to go back and sing a few songs to ease their mind. We went to Heritage and several told us that they had a group come last year to visit, but none came this year. So when we walked in they were all smiles and grateful that we came. One of the residents connected with our squad member, Janene Swendall, and asked if she would come back to see her.”
Bradley’s favorite part of hosting celebrations for seniors in nursing homes is seeing their smiles and letting them know they are still loved and that their community came together to show them how much they care.
“This would not have been successful without the community as a whole,” Bradley said.