Volunteers bring joy to local nursing homes

Easter arrived early to Hospitality House, 1100 S. Curry Pike, and other local nursing homes Sunday. \nSalvation Army volunteers visited five area nursing homes to distribute more than 500 stuffed bunnies to individuals residents. Nursing home residents were peppered throughout the corridors with walls of pastel blue and pink laced with large-petaled flowers awaiting the arrival of Salvation Army volunteers. \nCorps officer Capt. Melody Koehler and volunteers at the Hospitality House location unpacked boxes containing the stuffed bunnies shipped from toy makers Precise. Vibrant hues of blue, red and yellow sprung from the boxes. The stuffed bunnies were funded by the proceeds collected during the December holidays.\nCapt. Steven Koehler and his wife, Melody Koehler, moved to Bloomington a year ago from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Relating to similar experiences from before, Steven Koehler said he was was happy to see that more volunteers came out this year to help with the event. \nMelody Koehler said since she was young, she enjoyed working with patients and residents of veteran hospitals and has continued this tradition of visiting others. \nSteven Koehler said he was was glad to see families and friends come out to visit their relatives. Usually, this is not the case for most residents at the nursing homes, he said. The residents go to nursing homes because of loneliness, absence of family members or intensive care treatment. \n"Some individuals no longer have family members that associate with them, and it's critical that we take the time to add value to the lives of these beautiful people," Steven Koehler said.\nEyes fixed on her yellow stuffed bunny, resident Fonnie Nichols said she was thrilled with her gift. \n"My husband passed away four years ago. I am in this wheelchair because I broke my legs two years ago. I have two sons and two daughters, but I rarely see them," she said.\nVirginia Vanderburg and visiting daughter Beverly Vanderburg both said what the Salvation Army has done for Hospitality House and surrounding nursing homes has given the residing residents warm company, especially with those who rarely get to see friends and relatives. \n"Both men and women were very receptive to the gifts they received and to see smiles lit up on their faces is a wonderful experience," Melody Koehler said.\nFor more than 25 years, the Salvation Army in Bloomington and nationwide have practiced the tradition of giving out gifts during the Easter and Christmas holidays. Other programs and events that the Salvation Army hold are its thrift store at 111 N. Rogers Street; a year-round child care center; youth programs; and fundraisers.