Neighbours of a Burnaby elementary school got a little love delivered to their mailboxes for Valentine's Day Friday.
More than 400 students from Inman Elementary School at 3963 Brandon St. fanned out across the neighbourhood and delivered handmade cards to bring some Valentine's cheer to area residents.
"I love doing it. It makes us kind of go beyond ourselves and just our classroom, reaching out to the neighbourhood," said Inman Grade 2/3 teacher Katie Phillips, who spearheaded the project.
She said she got the idea a few years ago when a Valentine's Day card was delivered to her own mailbox.
"It was clearly made by a young kid and covered in pompoms and paper doilies, and I thought, 'Oh, what a great idea,'" she said.
A teacher in Vancouver at the time, she said she did the project at schools there twice.
The first time was just after COVID and the school got enthusiastic calls and emails from neighbours who got the cards, she said.
Among the callers was a woman who had lost her husband during the pandemic, according to Phillips.
"She called the school and was just very appreciative of having a smile put on her face that day and opening up the mail to something wonderful," she said.
This is Phillips's first year in Burnaby and she said the project has been well received by her new colleagues at Inman.
Before making the cards, students read Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, a picture book by Eilleen Spinelli about a Valentine's Day card accidentally being delivered to a lonely old man.
The man's life changes, but then he realizes the delivery was a mistake.
He goes back to his old ways until neighbours show up at his door holding signs saying they love him.
For Inman Grade 3 student Milah Giang, 8, the ending is the best part of the book.
She told the Burnaby NOW she was looking forward to delivering her card Friday and imagining the smile on the recipient's face.
Like all of her schoolmates at Inman, Milah made her own card after reading the book.
"My card, I had a animal on it. It was a bear and it was covered in some sparkles," she said. "It said, 'You are my Valentine.'"
The bear is holding a heart that also has sparkles, according to Milah.
She said she also made a Valentine’s Day card for her mom.
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