A Smile Can Change Everything!

Giovanna Barone is delivering kindness to seniors in the community with her mission, ‘Senior Smiles.’

Five years ago, Giovanna (Gia) Barone, 12, started a project to brighten the day of seniors, inspired by her late great-grandmother, Honey.

“I called her Honey GG, short for great-grandmother,” explains Gia. “I remembered she had gotten a call from a student in her local area once, and it really made her day. So, I started ‘Senior Smiles’ in her honor.”

Gia came up with the idea of making handmade cards and delivering them to the doorstep of seniors. Through this project, she has made and delivered more than 4,000 cards. Though Gia began by herself, she now has hundreds of volunteers, including neighbors, family friends, other students in the community, and even people in other states, including Ohio, New York, New Jersey and Florida.

Gia’s crew delivers cards for “no special occasion”—they are simple, day-brightening messages of encouragement, delivered to nursing home residents and to participants of the Meals on Wheels program. But they also make special birthday and Christmas cards that are more personalized.

It’s hard to overstate how much this kindness means to seniors. Gia’s mom, Megan, says, “I remember we went to one elderly gentleman’s home. Gia handed the card to the man, who is a Meals on Wheels recipient. He asked us to step inside his living room. When we went in, he pointed to the wall, where he had saved all the cards he had received over the past months and had hung them on his wall! His eyes literally filled with tears when he thanked her for them.”

Gia designs each card herself, and Megan prints them from her computer. At this point, Senior Smiles is not an official nonprofit. Megan explains that they had looked into it, but for now they continue to buy all the supplies to make the cards.

She adds, “We have friends who watch for good deals on paper, magic markers and other supplies and let us know about them.” But the reaction when the cards are delivered to the seniors is hard to measure in money. Many of them are moved to tears.

In March, Gia will be honored with a Junior Women of Achievement award for southwestern Pennsylvania, which recognizes those 18 and younger who are making a meaningful impact in their communities.

Gia hopes to see Senior Smiles with a national platform to reach more people. Senior members of our community add value to our lives, through their wisdom, experience and even teaching skills.

One of the residents Gia visited knows American Sign Language. She taught her to say, “I love you.” And now Gia “says” it to everyone all the time.