Pleasant Meadow receives response from Maine through balloon launch
Friday, November 3, 2006 -- Natalie Miller
The balloon remnant and accompanying letter arrived in Pleasant Meadow Manor’s mail this week.

To the delight of staff and residents, a university student found a balloon the seniors launched in August in search of pen pals. Meghan Parker and her fiancé were partridge hunting when they came across one of the 150 balloons launched by residents of the Norwood long-term care home.

“You are not going to believe this but today when I picked up the mail there was a reply from our balloon launch,” says office manager Sylvia Sanders.

“This reply came all the way from Maine.”

The motive for the balloon launch was to connect residents with pen pals from different communities. Susan Keeping, a Pleasant Meadow employee, introduced the idea after finding a balloon at her cottage from a group of schoolchildren from Grey County, Ontario. It requested the finder write a letter to the school like one that would be received from a pen pal. Susan did just that but took it a step further. Susan told the schoolchildren she would have the seniors send a fleet of balloons into the sky as well.

Pulling together the activity involved a variety of staff. Balloons were purchased and filled with helium courtesy of Medigas. Office manager Sylvia Sanders typed up the notes which stated the balloons were sent by seniors living in long-term care and if found, to respond to Pleasant Meadow Manor, care of the address and telephone number on the accompanying tag. Staff filled the balloons inside the long-term care home one evening and then everyone gathered on the outdoor patio to watch the seniors release them.

Having the balloon and accompanying note returned has stirred a sense of excitement at Pleasant Meadow, says Karen Coulter, life enrichment supervisor.

“Isn’t that amazing,” she says.

“I couldn’t believe how far it was from. Everybody’s just smiling and happy.”

The letter writer from Maine says she has family members who work in long-term care and would be interested in becoming pen pals, notes Sylvia.

Staff members are going to meet soon to draft a response letter. As well, Karen is hoping residents may be able to connect with pen pals over e-mail.