Heinrich Gives from the Heart
Staffers help Project Angel Heart's vital work for the terminally ill.
Fifty-six year old Ernest was out of options. With no treatments left to slow the advanced-stage cancer in his liver, he’d lost his job and his home to his illness. He had no family to turn to. Unable to afford food and too ill to walk to the food bank, his weight and his hope were dwindling.
Imagine the difference it makes to Ernest to open the door every Saturday to a friendly face and a week’s worth of nutritious meals — in a package hand-made to look like a giant encouragement card.
Ernest recently became one of about 800 Denver-area residents served by Project Angel Heart. And his next delivery from this remarkable nonprofit just may arrive in a package decorated by volunteers from Heinrich.
Before delivering Project Angel Heart meals to people coping with life-threatening illness, volunteers package them carefully inside oversized paper bags. Mostly donated, the bags are very plain-Jane — until volunteers cover them in colorful artwork and uplifting sentiments that mean the world to someone coping with devastating health conditions and loneliness.
“Many of our clients are homebound,” explains LaKeasha Smith, Project Angel Heart public and community relations coordinator. “So it’s not just about delivering meals. Once a week when they open that door and a volunteer hands them a hand-decorated bag, it feels personal. They feel thought about.”
While volunteers are asked not to write phrases like “get well soon” because many clients will never get well, “They really reach inside themselves and express compassion,” says Smith. “It makes a real difference for people to see that they’re not forgotten.”
What made this project unforgettable for our Heinrich team was sharing in something with such power to lift someone up.
“It feels good to volunteer my time to a good cause,” says Heinrich team member Erin Iwata about participating in the Project Angel Heart bag-beautifying project. “It’s a great feeling to know that something you created can put a smile on someone’s face.”
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