Hundreds of long-stemmed roses resulted in hundreds of smiles, clearly visible even behind their masks.

Residents and staff of Briarwood Healthcare Center and Willows Assisted Living of Friendship Village senior living in Schaumburg, received beautiful red roses and heart-shaped pins last week. The gifts were from Love is a Rose, a not-for-profit organization founded by area residents Sid and Kathy Fey of Sid Fey Designs.

The program, which was founded more than a year ago, was the result of the Feys realizing that "healing and kindness" seem to be in short demand these days.

"There almost seems to be a paradigm shift of what it means to be a human being. So we decided to do something about that," said Sid.

The mission of Love is a Rose, is to give roses with an inspirational message of love and kindness to a million "heroes of the decade" including caregivers and the people for whom they care, first responders, teachers and more.

The delivery of the roses to Friendship Village was a classic example of one good turn deserving another. The Feys identified the retirement community to receive roses after Sid read a media story about the independent living residents of the community, and their own dedication to service and helping others. One of their many volunteer enterprises has traditionally included the annual Martin Luther King Day service project of making sack lunches for other seniors in the area.

On March 25th, Love is a Rose delivered approximately 800 roses to the staff and residents in skilled care and assisted living at Friendship Village. The impact of the beautiful gift was clear as the recipients felt the kindness.

"It is rewarding to know that our residents showing kindness to others in the outside community came full circle bringing them and the staff at Friendship Village gifts of kindness. Our residents look forward to working on more volunteer opportunities in the future so they can continue to share the gift of kindness," said Jeannette Magdaleno, Manager of Life Long Learning and Volunteer Services at Friendship Village.

For more or to donate to Love is a Rose, visit www.LoveIsARose.com

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