LETTERS AGAINST ISOLATION
We've brightened over one million seniors' days with handwritten letters of love
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SIGN UP TO WRITE LETTERS!
Become a Letters Against Isolation volunteer and send seniors around the world friendly, conversational handwritten letters!
ABOUT US
Hi! We are Shreya and Saffron. At the start of the pandemic we did our best to support our isolated and lonely grandparents by calling them every day.
We realized that without visitors or the ability to interact with the wider world, many senior citizens were also facing increased isolation. Senior loneliness is a well-documented issue and has effects not only on seniors’ mental health but on their physical health as well. We believed that we could do something to help this situation and decided to spread joy by sending handwritten letters to residents of assisted living facilities and nursing homes. The demand for letters quickly outpaced us, and Letters Against Isolation was born! Our organization has since expanded to serve thousands of seniors in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
Mission Statement: We fight senior loneliness one letter at a time. Through handwritten messages of love, hope, and joy, our volunteer community brings seniors connection and improves their mental and physical health.
HOW LETTERS AGAINST ISOLATION WORKS
When you sign up as an LAI volunteer, we will provide you with a link to our online portal listing the names and addresses of our partner facilities around the world, the number of letters requested at each location and requests for letters in languages other than English. The portal is refreshed every two weeks, so there are always thousands of letter-writing opportunities available!
You’ll then have the pleasure and enjoyment of writing as many or as few letters as you wish. We ask that your letters be upbeat, positive and creative (and without political or religious references). LAI's volunteers send handwritten letters only, not e-mail, as there is something very special about receiving personalized correspondence! If you need ideas, please check out our blog. Keep in mind that you won’t know who you’re writing to, and there’s no expectation of a response—each letter is a one-time act of kindness meant to brighten someone’s day.
Once your letters are written, sign up via the web portal and put your letters in the mail! Kindly update your portal pledges to indicate that your letters have been sent so that our record-keeping is accurate. And be aware that your letters may not reach the seniors for 2-3 weeks, given postal delays and staffing patterns which vary at each of our partner facilities.
