A 2022 study of the "Valentine's Day blues" determined that sadness and loneliness around Feb. 14 is a real form of situational depression.
That sadness can be exacerbated for people battling illness, disabilities and social isolation.
From boosting spirits for sick children and their families to brightening days with bouquets, some Northeast Ohio organizations work year-round to beat the blues.
Sending love to sick kids and their siblings
Sara Taggart, a mom of four, said holidays can be tough for anyone, especially kids who may feel isolated due to illness, like her 10-year-old daughter, Annie.
Annie was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. When Annie was a toddler, Taggart said a friend recommended The Valentine Project. She didn't look too far into it, turned off by the paperwork often required by programs for kids with chronic conditions.
But one aspect of The Valentine Project made a difference to Taggart — the organization's willingness to include not only sick kids, but their siblings as well.
"In our family's opinion, [siblings] are the unsung heroes. They don't get the recognition or the appreciation that they should, so it was amazing to find an organization that included them," Taggart said.
Andrea Margida founded The Valentine Project from her former Alliance home in 2010. It all started when her family was volunteering at a camp for pediatric cancer patients and their siblings.
"My son got to know a camper who was his age and saw how different her life was, how much she missed out on, and thought this seemed like the perfect holiday, perfect time of year — you know, grey, cold February — to have a surprise arrive," Margida recalled.
The family started by sending care packages to nearly 90 Ohio children with cancer. Since then, the operation has grown into a nonprofit that has touched thousands across several states.
They operate year-round, sending packages to kids with cancer and chronic illnesses, as well as to their siblings. The packages include toys, treats and a homemade pillowcase. The organization's Kindness Card project, based in Stow, sends sick kids homemade greeting cards with jokes and riddles inside.
"It's saying, there are people out there who care about you. They haven't even met you, but they care about you," Margida said.
Margida, who now lives in Kentucky, added that holidays can leave kids who are battling illnesses feeling lonely or left out.
"It's saying, there are people out there who care about you. They haven't even met you, but they care about you."Andrea Margida, founder, The Valentine Project
"A serious diagnosis can feel lonely on this holiday that most kids enjoy, because it tends to highlight how different their lives are, how much things have changed, how little time they get to spend with their peers because of time spent in the hospital, time spent going to treatment, time spent with their health care team," Margida said. "They're spending more time with adults than their peers."
Taggart agreed, adding that the dreary February weather can make the holiday even harder.
"Everything in that package is so bright and cheerful and fun," Taggart said. "It just kind of gives you that reboot you kind of need because it makes the kid so happy, so then as a parent, when you see your kiddos happy, it's kind of like, that was what I needed to keep pushing me forward."
Margida also noted how sending packages and cards can be just as uplifting as receiving them. She said one woman who was undergoing chemotherapy reached out to her after a friend told her about The Valentine Project. The woman had been struggling through treatment and her doctor told her she needed to find a reason to continue fighting her cancer. Making cards became her reason.
"That's how she got through chemo and it blew my mind," Margida said. "She still, to this day, makes these beautiful cards."
The work is also important to Taggart, who now serves as a board member for The Valentine Project and oversees shipment of care packages from her house in Jewett, Ohio. Her family and other volunteers assemble the packages in the basement of a local church. Taggart's kids take the shipments to the nearby post office in a wagon.
"It's come full circle for my kids because I've always been a firm believer it's better to give than it is to receive," Taggart said.
No bouquet left behind
Sue Buddenbaum saw firsthand how battling illness can weigh on one's spirit. She's battled cancer herself and her mother had Alzheimer's. Though Buddenbaum had a strong support system, she said her experiences showed her that not everyone does.
That's what inspired her to create BigHearted Blooms six years ago. She discovered a similar organization in a different state and decided to bring the same mission to Cleveland, where she and her volunteers recycle donated flowers for people in care facilities.
It starts with floral arrangements that have served their purpose or remain unpurchased from florists, grocery stores and even brides after their wedding day. The arrangements and bouquets are donated to BigHearted Blooms, where Buddenbaum checks every flower before it's assembled into a new arrangement and delivered to others to enjoy.
"When people are lonely, there's days and days between seeing their caregivers, and a small gesture of kindness can really help them remember that they are loved, that they are cared about, and that they're part of the community," Buddenbaum said.
Inside BigHearted Blooms' workshop near E. 52nd Street and St. Clair Avenue, buckets of bouquets are ready to be recycled. On Feb. 13, a group of volunteers spent the evening volunteering as part of their women's employee resource group.
It's their second year volunteering at BigHearted Blooms, which Sophia Vaccaro said she discovered through a class when she was a student at Case Western Reserve University.
Vaccaro said giving back to people in the community connects her to her late grandmother, who loved receiving flowers during her battle with ovarian cancer. She also views the volunteer opportunity as a stress reliever.
"I think the act of creating a bouquet itself is something that's very mindless and easy to do, and I think it's also very creative. You can be imaginative of how you want to reassemble the flowers, to make it unique towards your personality, and how you can see someone else liking the bouquet," Vaccaro explained. "So I think that it's really good as a de-stressor and also an opportunity for people to kind of unplug."
Her colleague, Shannon Biega, said the mental health boost of giving back is empowering. Her mantra, she said, is "you can fill someone else's cup and that doesn't take away from you filling your own cup."
She said arranging bouquets "really fills my bucket while I'm also filling someone else's bucket of happiness and joy. To envision nursing homes or patients suffering from cancer in the hospital receiving my bouquet that I created, it brings me joy."
Buddenbaum and her volunteers will be busy the week after Valentine's Day. All of those bouquets that didn't sell in stores will end up at BigHearted Blooms for recycling before their vans are loaded up for deliveries. The summer wedding season also keeps Buddenbaum busy. Since its inception, Buddenbaum said BigHearted Blooms has delivered more than 37,000 bouquets.
"Social isolation and loneliness are an epidemic and the Surgeon General affirmed that last year," Buddenbaum said. "There are so many people that are in their homes and they're by themselves and, especially on a holiday which is all about love and family, it's extremely difficult. I think that's why it's so important that we're out there every day. We're trying to touch individual, raise their spirits and help them know that they're part of the community."
