SPEA students sell valentines to benefit seniors

While flowers, candy and jewelry are classic gestures of devotion on Valentine's Day, Ashley Groth, a student in public affairs, is out to prove she won't drain her bank account to show she cares.\nGroth is one of three members of the School of Public and Environmental Affair's Service Corps who will be selling valentine cards for $1 from Feb. 13 to Feb. 15 in the SPEA atrium. All profits will go to Area 10 Agency on Aging as part of its annual "Have-a-Heart for the Homebound" fundraiser benefiting Monroe and Owen county senior citizens.\n"I think that the overall goal is to provide help to seniors: ideally, to keep them healthy, at home and comfortable," said Abbie Hantgan, leader of AmeriCorps VISTA at Area 10.\nHantgan said SPEA students have helped with the fundraiser since 1998, typically raising $1,000 each year, which goes directly to the individuals who need it most, rather than to staff support costs. \nThis year, for the first time, Area 10 enlisted pre-school- and kindergarten-age children from Wonderlab and The Prep School to design all the valentines that will be for sale.\n"Our goal with involving the younger generation is that it became a service project that spans all age groups," Groth said. \nShe added that this project also gets the community involved because additional hearts are sold at banks and grocery stores throughout Monroe and Owen counties to further supplement Area 10 programs.\nArea 10 lacks funding for certain programs and must rely solely on volunteers and fundraising to maintain all the services that the organization offers, according to a press release.\nSome of the many services provided by Area 10 include a food bank, grocery shopping assistance and a handyman service that provides materials and volunteers for minor home repairs or to build things like wheelchair ramps in some cases.\nSPEA students who have organized the valentine sale have contributed greatly to Area 10, Hantgan said, and are currently helping to raise money for a fundraising walk called "Homeward Bound" that will be held Sunday, April 2. Groth said the walk is a community-wide project that involves about thirteen agencies in the area, including Area 10, that are dedicated to preventing homelessness.\n"The experience that we're getting is great -- it has allowed me to get my hands in a lot of different types of things and get a feel for the non profit sectors," Groth said. "It's a completely different constituency working for an organization that focuses directly on the elderly."\nHantgan said Area 10 frequently works with IU students and is always looking for young volunteers, especially those who are interested in social work. Recently, she said, students from IU's nursing school worked one-on-one with seniors to help them navigate the potentially confusing Medicare Part D Drug Plan Web site. The program helped hundreds of seniors in the area get signed up online, she said.\n"The students are so good with the computers that it really helps seniors," Hantgan said. "It's always great to do intergenerational work"