Letters to Long Term Care
January 15, 2021
Universal Letter Writing Week may be coming to a close, but sending positive messages to long term care residents and staff never goes out of style.
From a 5-year-old breaking her piggy bank to a full-fledged ‘Operation Love Letters,’ check out these stories of handwritten support for long term care:
- Paoli, PA: 16-year-old Hita Gupta and her 10-year-old brother Divit sent almost 100,000 handwritten cards and packages to nursing homes in the U.S. and abroad. “I knew I needed to remind them that they aren’t alone, and I did everything I could to make sure they knew that.” Read the full story here →
- Vestal, NY: 5-year-old Aryana Chopra is well aware of the seriousness of COVID-19, as her father works as a doctor on the front lines of the pandemic. She made 200 New Year’s cards for her local nursing home – and then broke her piggy bank to buy a gift for residents. Read the full story here →
- Big Spring, TX: John Flores spent the holiday season asking people around town to write letters for nursing home residents. ‘Operation Love Letters’ ended up collecting more than 2,000 letters as a result. Read the full story here →
- Aberdeen, MD: After falling in love with volunteering at a local nursing home, two Montclair High School teens started ‘Letters for Rose,’ a nationwide effort to help nursing home residents connect with their communities. Now, the organization has 50 chapters in 25 states. Read the full story here →
- Sioux Falls, SD: Long term care staff at Alcester Care and Rehab Center put out a call for pen pals in November – and since then, residents have received up to 100 letters per day. Now, they’re asking communities to open up the pen pal program to their local nursing homes as well. Read the full story here →
If you’re feeling inspired by these stories, share your own message of support on social media by following the instructions here.
