With COVID-19 being especially dangerous for the elderly, nursing homes and assisted living facilities across globe have restricted access to visitors. To help combat the loneliness that comes with social distancing for a generation that doesn’t live online, write a letter!
The non-profit Love for the Elderly is collecting letters to send to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospices and senior centers across the globe. Here’s how to participate!
BEFORE SENDING YOUR LETTER(S), HERE ARE SOME GUIDELINES:
Take a few minutes right now, sit down, and write a letter to an elder (a stranger) telling them about yourself, maybe say a joke or a riddle and let them know that they are loved. Making a difference can be so simple, yet it can be incredibly impactful!
It might feel difficult at first to be writing to someone you don’t know. Our advice: just pretend like it’s a conversation! What kinds of things would you want to talk about to a stranger?
1. Letters must be legible (large print) and handwritten. No worries if you’re not artistic– make your card as what you’d like to receive.
2. Avoid religion. Please refrain from including anything religious in your letters, such as religious quotes, words like "God," etc.
3. Exclude the date (day, month, and year).
4. Embrace creativity! Recipients love it when the letters are personal. We encourage you to make your letters detailed, thoughtful and heartfelt.
5. Be kind and thoughtful (more than talking about yourself). This is a one-way letter exchange, meaning you will not receive a letter back, so remember that no reciprocation attached is part of the beauty of your act of kindness, and the recipients don’t feel burdened by feeling obligated or being unable to respond.
6. Envelope your letters if you can! It’s so much nicer to open up an enveloped card, don’t you think? If you’re sending more than 1 letter, leave your enveloped letters unsealed and unstamped and put them in a larger envelope or box to send.
7. Share your act of kindness! We love seeing photos of your letter writing, and it helps promote our cause more than you know. Tag us @love4theelderly and our founder @jacobcraa and tag #lovefortheelderly (Feel free to tag @WordsAliveSD so we can see your work too!)
8. Send us as many cards as you’d like! We accept letters year-round, so there’s no deadline for when you must send them by.
READY TO MAIL? YAY! SEND TO:
Love For The Elderly
P. O. Box 24248
Cleveland, OH 44124
USA