Seton LaSalle sophomore warms hearts with art
Courtesy of Patrick Weldon
Patrick Weldon writes in some of the cards that are sent to patients in facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes.
Courtesy of Patrick Weldon
Patrick Weldon writes in some of the cards that are sent to patients in facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020, Patrick Weldon was a 13-year-old making deliveries for Meals on Wheels when he had an epiphany of sorts.
“I realized the senior citizens were really isolated in their homes and didn’t have anybody visiting them,” said the Seton LaSalle Catholic High School sophomore. “I started handing out cards whenever I gave them their meals and they were pretty receptive to that.”
So, when the Carroll Township resident entered eighth grade at St. Louise de Marillac School in Upper St. Clair that fall, he had an idea for a service project.
“That’s really how the Art for Heart started,” he said. “I got a lot of kids at St. Louise de Marillac to start making cards and I started delivering them.”
Weldon, now 16, has continued his Art for Heart project at Seton LaSalle, distributing cards to patients at 18 facilities, including nursing homes, hospitals and homes for nuns for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. There also have been some student get-well drives.
Since then, more than 10,000 cards have gone out as part of Art to Heart.
The cards are not store-bought but rather are made from digital templates.
“I usually find some simple PDFs or templates online that fit the theme and kids just color them in and write a thoughtful message,” Weldon explained. “I’ve been working on cards in my free time.”
Cards have been sent to patients at Canonsburg, Mon Valley, Jefferson, Mercy and St. Clair hospitals as well as to Vincentian Marian Manor, and homes for Benedictine Sisters and Passionist Nuns in Pittsburgh.
As he got started, Weldon said other facilities contacted him to see if cards could be sent to them.
“It kind of kept snowballing and moving forward,” he said.
He and his fellow students worked feverishly to ready cards for Valentine’s Day, creating nearly 1,000 cards.
Weldon has received letters of appreciation from the staff members at some of the hospitals.
“It feels really nice to be able to help out people,” Weldon said. “I don’t really know these people personally, but to know I’m able to impact them and make them feel a little bit better, it definitely feels nice. Just coloring a card and writing a nice note makes somebody’s day a bit better.”