The pandemic brought many of us closer to our neighbours and community; from delivering medicine to the elderly, to helping out mums with their shopping. However, post-pandemic, a lot seems to have been forgotten. A new service from Lottie aims to rekindle community connections, especially with our elderly. Their innovative onsite search tool matches users in seconds to a local home with residents happy to receive a letter from a potential new friend in their community.

Image features care home resident, Julia receiving a letter through the service

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.

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!

Why buddy up with a local elderly person?

Will Donnelly, Care Expert and Co-Founder at Lottie says: “The penpal scheme has brought a lot of happiness to residents already, and we are hoping it’ll feel extra special to both the recipients and senders of penpal letters to meet someone in their own area and form a friendship.

Loneliness isn’t age-related; we can all experience this. So to think we can connect two people in one area and put a smile on both their faces is truly rewarding for us to be able to do. We know deep down the British culture is extremely generous and giving, so we are excited for everyone involved in this scheme to do something good in their local community and check in with a nearby elderly resident.”

Advice for writing to residents to spark a friendship

For those looking to develop a new 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 and mother.

#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 visualise their 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.