CLEVELAND — A local organization is making sure senior citizens staying in assisted living are not forgotten during a time of social distancing and staying at home.
Love For The Elderly, a nonprofit that sends handwritten letter to the elderly, has partnered with Assisted Living Locator, a free senior placement and referral business, to encourage people to write “letters of love” to uplift seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With COVID-19 reaching pandemic levels and our seniors being one of the most vulnerable to the disease, many states have ordered lockdowns or issued shelter-in-place guidelines,” said Angela Olea, Assisted Living Locators CEO RN, said in a news release. “Social distancing has led older adults living in long term care facilities to be isolated from their loved ones. It’s extremely important to ensure residents are positively engaged and supported during COVID-19. We’re asking for kind, handwritten letters to mail to bring comfort to seniors. Just take 5 minutes and write a letter of love to a stranger.”
Before sending your letter, Love For The Elderly has these guidelines:
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! If you’re sending more than one 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! On social media, tag #lettersoflove, #lovefortheelderly and #assistedlivinglocators.
8. Send as many cards as you’d like! They accept letters year-round, so there’s no deadline for when you must send them by.
“Letters of Love” can be mailed to:
Love For The Elderly
P. O. Box 24248
Cleveland, OH 44124 USA
