Get pen and paper and write something grand
- col-dave-mast
- February 21, 2025
- 377
The elderly.
They’ve been through wars, famine, raising families, thousands of significant historical moments and even disco!
Yet many of today’s seniors are a forgotten generation, often left to either visiting among themselves or living as shut-ins, incapable of venturing out into the world that once embraced them as vital citizens.
The problem is, our elders are filled with a wealth of knowledge that should be cherished and valued in today’s world, adored for the experiences of a lifetime that could and should serve as a way for us all to learn and appreciate life.
It’s time for us to give our seniors the due they deserve, and one upcoming day is a great time to start devoting more time to our more experienced folks.
Letter to an Elder Day will be celebrated Wednesday, Feb. 26. This special overlooked day is a holiday celebrated by sending an elder a handwritten letter of adoration, respect and love.
Letter to an Elder Day was started with the aim of staving off loneliness among seniors by writing them a heartfelt letter. Although this day is only once a year, it serves as a way to remind us that seniors today have lived a lifetime of experience and it is vital to reconnect with that generation, to learn from them, to grow relationships and above all, to let them know they are remembered, respected and loved.
A single handwritten letter has the power to change someone’s day, week, month or even life. It’s a powerful way to communicate and build relationships.
Everyone deserves to feel loved, and Letter to an Elder Day encourages letter writing as a way to promote intergenerational connections.
My son Kyle learned this valuable lesson while working summers at Sycamore Run, where he developed a healthy appreciation for the seniors with whom he aided and grew to know and appreciate.
Kyle’s experience there provided a unique insight into the aging process. I think he gained the realization that people aren’t invincible as many younger people tend to believe.
Time takes a toll on everyone, and he gained an incredible amount of respect for the elders who shared their lives with him, told him stories of the past, and in doing so, he developed some neat relationships with many.
Our history is an important part of our future, and our elders possess the keys to so much critical information that can help us learn how to survive, grow and improve our lives today.
But more importantly, they are people who like all of us seek companionship, joy and love in their lives.
What better way to do that than to write them a letter?
This celebration of life began with a young boy and his grandpa. When Jacob Cramer lost his grandfather, he began to volunteer at a local senior living community as a way of honoring his memory. He was lovingly referred to as “Bingo Boy” because of his entertaining and lively way of calling the community’s bingo game.
During his time volunteering, he discovered that many of the residents rarely received messages or visitors from family and friends and that loneliness was a chronic and ever-present problem. Thus, he decided to start writing letters of love to senior communities. Quickly, his moniker changed from Bingo Boy to Letter Boy.
He found grace and love in his relationships with his friends in the senior community and eventually decided that he could take his letter-writing efforts nationally. Jacob created a nonprofit that urged people to write letters to elders.
Since 2013, Jacob and his team have amassed an army of 50,000+ letter writers around the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they branched out to collect video messages of hope, love and encouragement, created public awareness campaigns and engaged individuals, classrooms and companies.
What is truly inspiring about this day isn’t simply the art of penning a hand-written letter of love, but the hope is that it will inspire all of us to develop an even greater appreciation for our seniors and begin meaningful relationships that spread from the pen and paper to visitations, which can blossom into wonderful relationships.
Yes, overcoming the stigma that “We don’t have anything in common” is there, but by peeling that fear away, I think we will all find that our seniors have heartwarming stories to tell that can touch our lives in very meaningful ways.
In a fitting tribute, Letter to an Elder Day is held on Feb. 26 to coincide with the birthday of Jacob’s grandmother, Doris.
So, let’s get writing.