BUCKHANNON, West Virginia — Students at West Virginia Wesleyan College spread Valentine’s Day greetings within the region as part of a card-making project that generated over 500 cards.

In 2025, Matthew Hatfield ‘28, of Oceana, West Virginia, and a WVWC Service Scholar, organized a Valentine’s Day project as part of his community service and decided this year to ask his sophomore class council to grow the project.

“As sophomore class president, I wanted our class to take on a project that would bring smiles to people all across this part of the state and help make a small difference,” he said.  This allowed us to not only bring college students together, but also middle school students in helping bring smiles to residents in nursing homes.”

Students at Robert L. Bland Middle School in Lewis County helped make cards along with WVWC students back on campus.

“This year, we had over 500 Valentine cards go out to seven nursing homes around this area: Serenity, Holbrook, St. Joes, Elkins Rehabilitation, Mountain Memories, Clarksburg Rehabilitation and Clarksburg VA Nursing Facility,” Hatfield added. “I did not think we were going to be able to do 500-plus cards, but so many people came together to make this possible. It is nice to know these cards did not just bring smiles to the residents in nursing homes, but seeing students laughing and smiling while being creative with their cards was very rewarding.”

I want to thank three of our class representatives, Alexis Dickenson ‘27, of Lewisburg, West Virginia; Lynzee Hague ‘28, of Yantis, Texas;  and Katie Shaw ‘28, of Charleston, West Virginia, for helping assure that all cards were filled out in time for Valentine’s Day,” he said. “Without their help, we would not have been able to reach all seven nursing homes. Another huge thank you to the West Virginia Wesleyan College Center for Community Engagement and Leadership Development for helping fund these cards so that this could be possible.” 

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE
West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) is a private, four-year residential liberal arts and sciences college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. A tradition of excellence for 135 years, West Virginia Wesleyan is home to 14 Fulbright Scholars. The Princeton Review ranked Wesleyan as one of its 2026 Best Colleges in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States. U.S. News & World Report’s 2026  Best College Rankings designated Wesleyan second in Best Value – Regional Universities (South). WVWC offers students nearly 60 majors and 40 minors; graduate programs in athletic training, business administration, creative writing, nursing and counseling; 22 NCAA Division II athletic programs; multiple performing arts groups; and more than 50 organizations. Founded in 1890, the College is closely affiliated with the United Methodist Church and abides by the Wesley doctrine that emphasizes service to others. For more information, visit wvwc.edu.