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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Mother&#8217;s Day is next Sunday, a difficult day for some, a pleasant day for others, yet a day of celebration for all.</p><p>Mothers should be celebrated/honored every day. If not for our mothers, after all, where would we be? And, yes, our fathers as well, but they have their own day next month.</p><p>Most of us sons and daughters do honor and celebrate our mothers every day, but there are some out there who need a little help in putting smiles on their mother&#8217;s face.</p><p>Deborah Kalinoski, who manages St. John Apartments in Wilkes Barre and Lincoln Heights in Pittston, has come up with a wonderful program to assist children in celebrating Mother&#8217;s Day with the their mothers.</p><p>Deborah told me that some 25 years ago, her mother passed away. Like me and many others, she misses her mom every single day. So Deborah had an idea.</p><p>She said one day she was walking through Kmart and saw a Mother&#8217;s Day card display.</p><p>&#8220;And it hit me like a bullet,&#8221; she said, having a realization that she would never need to buy another Mother&#8217;s Day card again.</p><p>&#8220;Or so I thought,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Last year Deborah was thinking about her mom as Mother&#8217;s Day approached. She decided to circulate a flyer to her residents asking them to take the time to help her out with a project. Deborah asked the residents to purchase a Mother&#8217;s Day card &#8212; one they would choose for their mother &#8212; a special card &#8220;from a child&#8217;s heart.&#8221;</p><p>The response was overwhelming. Deborah had cards being dropped off in her office.</p><p>And who were these cards going to? That&#8217;s the really cool thing about Deborah&#8217;s project.</p><p>Deborah delivered the cards to children who otherwise would be unable to purchase them. These are children who would be visiting their mothers who may be incarcerated, kids in foster homes, kids in hospitals, day care &#8212; anywhere a child might want to give a fancy card to their mother, but they don&#8217;t have a way or means to do it.</p><p>Deborah said the cards might give a lift to a lot of sad daughters and sons this Mother&#8217;s Day &#8212; and their mothers. She said it&#8217;s a double blessing &#8212; from the person who bought the card and to the child who can gift it. Not to mention the mothers who receive the cards.</p><p>&#8220;I know nothing can surpass the homemade card a child will make for mom, but in some cases it&#8217;s not possible, or they just might want to give a little something special,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Deborah collects all the cards and then delivers them to the appropriate organizations that in turn give them to the children to take to their mothers.</p><p>In her flyer she gives to all her residents, Deborah says this:</p><p>&#8220;Let them feel the pride in giving their mother a new, pretty card on Mother&#8217;s Day. I found It really brings the best out in everyone, gets them thinking.&#8221;</p><p>This is an effort so commendable, I don&#8217;t know where to begin. It instills pride in each child and teaches them to always honor and respect your mother, regardless of the circumstances. It teaches them to celebrate motherhood and it shows them that there are people who care about them and want to help them to be better sons and daughters.</p><p>And then there are the benefits the program brings to the people who purchase the cards that are given to the children. This has to make each of them feel very happy knowing they are making a better Mother&#8217;s Day for children and mothers they will never meet.</p><p>It would make all of their mothers extremely proud.</p><p>Deborah asks that those participating in the project to help her find others who are on hard times, to give them a couple cards for their mothers. Maybe, Deborah suggests, even buy a flower or a box of chocolates if they have the means.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sure all of our mothers who have gone before us will all feel especially proud,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Like I said in the beginning, Mother&#8217;s Day is to be celebrated by all.</p><p>I miss my mom every day and I think about her every day. She would be very fond of this project because she believed in helping others.</p><p>Just think about the smiles on the faces of the children and their mothers when these cards are presented.</p><p>Like Deborah says, those of us who no longer have our mothers to buy a card for, or flowers or candy or to cook dinner for, know how special celebrating Mother&#8217;s Day can be.</p><p>Help Deborah grow this worthy project.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_Columnshot.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email at boboyle@www.timesleader.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Beyond the Byline: Project helps children celebrate their moms