Saffron and I thought it would be a nice idea to face time some of the 1546 seniors who we write to and learn how your letters have affected them. This week, we face timed Hy, a resident at the Wingate Residence at Haverhill, and the wonderful Michelle, the Residences' Activities Director.
Hy is a lovely man who was proud to tell us that he ran a coffee company for 60 years! While the Residents at Wingate normally exercise, watch movies and eat together, they’ve been social distancing in their rooms to prevent the risk of Coronavirus transmission. As you can imagine, this can get a little lonely, so when Michelle brought Hy’s first letter, it was “a good surprise”.
He said that reading the volunteer’s card, “made me feel very important, it made me feel like someone was thinking of me”. Hy showed us his favorite card, which was hand-drawn and featured purple flowers and the slogan “When flowers bloom so does hope”. You should have seen the smile on his face! It is clear that receiving your cards has made an impact on Hy! The knowledge that people around the country from Florida to Michigan are thinking of him “made me feel like someone loves me, even though they were a stranger". Hy keeps his cards on his TV stand, so he can see them often and be reminded of this.
Michelle shared that when she reads your letters, she and the residents enjoy imagining the person who wrote them. They look at the way the card is decorated, the way it is written, and the little details that you include!
Before I sign off, I wanted to share some of Hy’s words of wisdom.
“Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.”
“Success is when you move from one failure to another without losing any enthusiasm”
"You never can erase the smile on your face”
Thank you so much for writing. You are having such an impact on the seniors who receive your letters. Next week come back to hear how another senior, Anne, has found receiving letters!
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