SWAMPSCOTT — Swampscott resident Carolina Velasquez is encouraging the community to “Adopt a Grandparent,” a national initiative she has joined that aims to bring joy to seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Adopt a Grandparent” is an initiative the balloon community has been rolling out this month. It consists of various entertainment businesses partnering with local senior centers and assisted living facilities to provide the elderly with “balloon buddies.”
“The idea is that community members will buy a ‘balloon buddy’ and once every senior for our current location is ‘adopted,’ we will create the balloon buddies and deliver them,” said Velasquez, a social worker with the Department of Transitional Assistance who moonlights as the owner of Swampscott-based entertainment business Fairytale Moments Events.
“The Swampscott Senior Center and The Residence at Vinnin Square are both on board with us and quite excited for this,” she said. “The Swampscott Senior Center serves 400 seniors and we have established our first goal number to be 100 balloon buddies. Once we reach that goal, we will move onto The Residence at Vinnin Square — they have 80 residents.”
Velasquez said getting the word out about the initiative is key. As of last Friday, she still needed 14 more balloon buddies sponsored for the senior center and 80 for Vinnin Square, which are meant to be “holdable” and even “huggable,” as the balloons are made to resemble people.
Once she reaches 100 sponsors for the senior center — anyone can adopt a senior by buying a $15 balloon buddy — Velasquez will create the balloon art and distribute them to the center, which is located in the back of the town’s high school on Essex Street.
“People are doing this all over the world,” Velasquez noted about the “Adopt a Grandparent” initiative, adding that since its launch this month, everyone in the balloon business has been “working like crazy” to get the balloon buddies out to seniors.
While most other businesses are focused on assisted living facilities, Velasquez said contacting the senior center was important to her because it serves so many elderly residents in Swampscott.
With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the senior population hard, not only in terms of illness but in creating long periods of isolation, Velasquez said the “Adopt a Grandparent” initiative is a way for the community to lift their spirits and let the town’s elderly residents know that they care about them.
“We are hoping this small gesture brings joy to our seniors, their residences and our community as a whole,” said Velasquez. “I would hope this is something everyone will see for all the positive impact it has the capacity to create.
“Ultimately, what we’re asking is that the community collectively does something positive for others. To me, it’s considered a random act of kindness,” she said.
Community members can sponsor a balloon buddy for $15 through Velasquez’s Facebook page, “Fairytale Moments Events,” which includes a link to her business website.