With loneliness being particularly felt around important dates and seasonal events, there is an opportunity to bring special messages of appreciation, support and love to elderly people in the UK.
More than one million people aged 75+ go for months on end without contact with loved ones, according to the NHS. Care home marketplace provider, Lottie has very recently introduced a penpal scheme that combats loneliness in care and residential homes in an innovative way. Using the onsite search tool, you can be matched in seconds to a local home with residents happy to receive a letter from you.
There are many elderly people without family to visit or call on, and many of us sadly without parents or grandparents in our lives to share the love too, so this new venture will connect the public with care home residents local to them, and shed a little joy. Particularly in a post-covid era, when the elderly in homes were not too long ago at the forefront of our minds, this initiative will remind people that other times beyond a pandemic or Christmas can be opportunities to do something good for someone else.
The difference a letter makes
The penpals initiative was first launched after the pandemic to brighten the days of elderly residents by connecting local people with isolated seniors nearby through the lost art of letter-writing. Small acts of kindness like this can go a long way to helping our elderly feel like someone on the outside truly cares.
One resident, Lillian from Marham House Care Home said: “A letter makes you think someone is thinking of you. Somebody else is concerned for you. And that is very comforting.”
More residents describe how it feels to have a penpal in this heartwarming video. Disclaimer: it’s a tear-jerker!
Advice for writing to residents to spark a friendship
For those looking to develop a new penpal friendship, here are some tips and advice for what to include in your special message.
#1 – Tell them why you are writing. What made you want to reach out? If you feel comfortable, share stories of your own family.
#2 – Include a picture. If you are happy to do so, sending a picture can really help put a face to a name and help this person to form a relationship with you. It can make the message feel much more personal and real to help visualise the sender.
#3 – Ask them about themselves! This generation is eager to hear about the lives of family and others, but they have amazing stories to tell too, and it can be so heartwarming to know someone cares about how your day went too or to have someone ask how you are feeling. Ask away, so when your penpal writes back, they can share their stories too.
Will Donnelly, Care Expert and Co-Founder at Lottie says: “Some days may feel lonely when you are living in a residential or care home and some days feel disconnected to the outside world. The penpal scheme has brought a lot of happiness to residents, and we are hoping it’ll feel extra special to both the recipients and senders of penpal letters.
We’re calling on the public to nurture a penpal friendship. Some readers will have lost grandparents and parents too early in life, or are estranged from family so we hope the scheme can help to bring joy to the elderly, making them feel special too.”
To start a penpal friendship, visit the website to find a registered care home local to them and then get writing and sending!
All image assets can be found here.