GEORGETOWN, Texas — Heather Smith is helping to bring comfort to seniors at an assisted living center in Georgetown.
Smith had a lot of things in common with her father.
"He and I love to laugh," she said.
Like her father, Smith also has a kind heart and a desire to give back. When her dad passed away two years ago, she wanted to do something for the people who had been there for him.
"We were trying to find a way to help the community and I reached out to Brookdale and asked, you know, 'Can we do anything for you guys? What about blankets?'" Smith told KVUE.
She and her daughter, Haley, chose to make blankets for residents at Brookdale Senior Living in Georgetown. It's a familiar place, considering Smith was there twice-a-day visiting her dad in his final days.
"My dad loved it there. He loved the staff, he loved the residents. And so it was just kind of a natural thing for me to reach out to them and show them love," Haley Smith said.
Between Heather Smith's job printing at Minute Man Press and finding prints for her blankets, she has her hands full. But she never forgets to fulfill the crafting commitment she started when the pandemic began.
"[A Brookdale staff member] sends me a text message every month and tells me what the next month's birthdays are because we address a card for them and then tells me what they like, whether it's flowers or they're a veteran so they would like something with a flag on it," Heather Smith said. "It is nice. They always wear the blanket on their lap. A lot of them are in wheelchairs and so it keeps them warm."
It's a labor of love for Heather Smith. That's why KVUE and Charles Maund Toyota rewarded her with $1,000 for paying it forward.
"I have never met any of them, so I don't know who they are. I just make their blanket and I put it in a birthday sack and I drop it off at the front door," Heather Smith said.
So far, Heather Smith has delivered more than 100 blankets. Every delivery still reminds her of her dad.
"I'm sure he's just smiling, just really big and just saying, 'That's my daughter,'" Heather Smith said.
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