A local Girl Scout troop is using artwork to spread cheer to some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

“Right now, I’m drawing the sunset with the moon in the background,” Marina Debbie Apton Rietz explained. She’s part of Girl Scouts of Western New York Troop 60812, which spent Monday afternoon making art.

“I’ve been doing a lot of other drawings of animals and nature,” Marina continued.

But these scouts won’t be keeping their work.

“What they decided to do was make a combination of art and letters for the residents at Kirkhaven Nursing Home,” explained Troop Co-Leader Laurylann Romeo Costanzo.

“I hope people like this,” said Natalie Berry, another troop member. “I hope it brings smiles to people so that they know a lot of people care about them.

It’s a message that’s already reached parents and volunteers.

“[I’m] proud,” said Kevin Stewart, a father of one of the Scouts. “Not only as a dad, but as a surrogate to the other girls in the troop. I’m just like the moms.”

It’s a message that will reach dozens.

“A minimum of 40 pieces in total between the artwork and the letters to give to the residents,” Costanzo explained.

And, it’s all for one simple reason according to Scout Jaden Stewart: “I just want them to smile.”

Girl Scouts of Western New York Troup 60812 will deliver their artwork and letters to Kirkhaven Transitional Care on Friday.