Family Dollar Shoppers Buy Balloons as Perham High Donates Cards to Seniors

Family Dollar customers in Perham purchased Valentine’s Day balloons that were collected and delivered to Perham Living, while Perham High School girls’ basketball players and a local donor contributed handmade cards for residents. Organizers say the drive is on track to reach about 400 balloons this year, building on more than 250 balloons purchased and delivered last year.

Deliveries to Perham Living took place on Feb. 17, 2026, after shoppers selected balloons priced between $1.50 and $5 at the Family Dollar store in Perham. Family Dollar store manager Sandra Youngs said the idea grew out of restrictions during the COVID era: "It started around the COVID era," she said, when customers wanted a way to bring cheer to residents who could not receive visitors.

The program has grown steadily with both customers and the Family Dollar team helping to coordinate purchases and drop-offs. Last year, organizers counted more than 250 balloons; this year the store and volunteers report being on track for 400 balloons, a scale that requires daily collection and scheduled delivery runs to the facility.

Perham Living social worker Jessica Bolin estimated about 96 people live at the Perham Living facility and said balloons are shared across the main facility as well as assisted living and other resident quarters. "We even have some to leave in public spaces," Bolin said, and she added that the gifts light up residents' faces and just about made one cry tears of joy during the recent delivery.

Handmade Valentine’s cards accompanied the balloons. Perham High School girls’ basketball players assembled cards as a team contribution, and an additional local donor provided more handmade cards, organizers said. The process in the store allows customers to select a balloon at the $1.50-to-$5 price point, hand it to Family Dollar staff or volunteers, and have it routed to Perham Living for distribution to specific residents or placed in communal areas.

Photographs documenting the event include image files labeled perham living balloon crew.JPG, cards.JPG, and balloons.JPG, with photo credit attributed to Barbie Porter and The Trust Project. Those images show volunteers loading balloons at the Family Dollar counter and staff and players handing cards to Perham Living personnel during the Feb. 17 delivery.

Organizers describe the effort as a quiet, recurring community outreach that has taken place for years and expanded since the pandemic period. They also indicated that similar senior sites have benefited from balloon deliveries though no other facilities were named; at Perham Living the combination of purchased balloons and handmade cards aims to remind residents they are cared for by their neighbors.