Here‘s where you can help Whatcom‘s first responders bring happiness to COVID shut-ins
.jpg "Whatcom County first responders are collecting DVDs to donate to area long-term care facilities, such as Shuksan Healthcare Center in Bellingham, to help give entertainment to residents locked down by COVID.")
While the rest of us had “Tiger King,” “Schitt’s Creek” and countless other shows and movies to “quaran-stream” during the COVID-19 pandemic, many residents at Whatcom County’s long-term care facilities have been limited to the entertainment options available at their facilities.
To help answer that, Whatcom County first responders are collecting new and used DVDs to give to area residents in long-term care facilities that have been locked down for almost a full year.
“COVID put our long-term care facilities on strict lockdowns to ensure the safety of the residents,” a social media flier for the First Responder DVD Drive reads. “This has been almost a YEAR now, and they need our help.
“Our long-term care facilities need more entertainment!”
The idea, at least here in Whatcom County, is the that of Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Behavioral Health Deputy Jerilyn Klix, who told The Bellingham Herald in an email she saw a meme on a Facebook post by a relative suggesting people donate their DVDs to nursing homes, instead of just throwing them away.
Part of Klix’s responsibilities with the sheriff’s office, she wrote, is working with people in various stages of dementia, helping them and their family get in touch with the resources they need, advocating for whatever level of care they need and even helping navigate the process to get into assisted living and long-term care facilities.
From there, the idea for a DVD drive just clicked.
“I also happen to know quite a few people in my personal life who work for care facilities, so after seeing the meme I reached out to them and asked if that would actually be something helpful,” Klix wrote. “They all said yes, that entertainment is definitely lacking during this long year of COVID lockdown for their facilities.
“This is a COVID-safe way to help hopefully bring something new to a vulnerable population.”
So Klix worked with her network of first responders to “see what we can pull together as a community to gift to our long-term care facilities.”
First responders are asking for any new or used DVDs in cases you believe those living in area long-term care facilities might enjoy. Donation boxes will be available through Wednesday, March 17, in all law enforcement and fire department stations that wish to participate.
“I have no idea how large of a response we’ll get, but I know they will be appreciative however it turns out,” Klix wrote. “It’s one of those things where we can’t lose, and it’s a small gesture to show every (one) living and working in these facilities and homes that we care and haven’t forgotten them.”
DVD drop-off boxes
Drop-off boxes will be available from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. through March 17 at these locations:
▪ Whatcom County Courthouse Rotunda (open until 5 p.m.), 311 Grand Ave.
▪ North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Britton Loop Station 12, 4020 Britton Loop.
▪ North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Laurel Fire Station 69, 6028 Guide Meridian Road.
▪ North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Birch Bay Fire Station 63, 4581 Birch Bay Lynden Road, Blaine.
▪ North Whatcom Fire and Rescue Blaine Fire Station 51, 9408 Odell Road, Blaine.
▪ South Whatcom Fire Authority Sudden Valley Fire Station, 2050 Lake Whatcom Boulevard.
▪ Whatcom County Fire District 18 Glenhaven Fire Station, 431 Cain Lake Road, Sedro-Woolley.
▪ Whatcom County Fire District 14 Kendall Fire Station, 7528 Kendall Road, Maple Falls.
▪ Whatcom County Fire District 1 Everson Fire Station, 101 E. Main St., Everson.
▪ Whatcom County Fire District 1 Nugent Corner Fire Station, 5664 Lawrence Road, Everson.
▪ Ferndale Fire Department Station 41, 2020 Washington St., Ferndale.
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
