With loneliness being particularly felt around important dates and seasonal events, there is an opportunity ahead of Mother’s Day to bring special Mothering Sunday messages of appreciation, support and love to elderly women in the UK this week!

More than one million people aged 75+ go for months on end without contact with loved ones, according to the NHS. Care home marketplace provider, Lottie has very recently introduced a penpal scheme that combats loneliness in care and residential homes in an innovative way. Using the onsite search tool, you can be matched in seconds to a local home with residents happy to receive a letter from you.

Image features resident Julia receiving a letter from a new penpal

There are many elderly women without family to visit or call on, and many of us sadly without mothers or grandmothers in our lives to share the love too, so this new venture will connect the public with female residents local to them, and shed a little joy. Particularly in a post-covid era, when the elderly in homes were not too long ago at the forefront of our minds, this initiative will remind people that other times beyond a pandemic or Christmas can be opportunities to do something good for someone else.

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.

One resident, 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!

Advice for adopting a grandma this Mother’s Day

For those looking to ‘adopt’ a grandma or mum this Mother’s Day, 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 this Mother’s Day? 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 Mother’s Day 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 adopted grandma or mother writes back, they can share their stories too.

Why write for Mother’s Day?

Will Donnelly, Care Expert and Co-Founder at Lottie says: “Some days may feel lonely when you are living in a residential or care home and some days feel disconnected to the outside world. But on special days like Mother’s Day, this feeling can be much harder to bear. The penpal scheme has brought a lot of happiness to residents, and this year for Mother’s Day we are hoping it’ll feel extra special to both the recipients and senders of penpal letters.

We’re calling on the public to adopt a mother or grandma. Some readers will have lost grandparents and parents too early in life, or are estranged from family and may struggle with this day too. We hope the scheme can help cleanse any feelings of loss on Mothering Sunday, whilst bringing joy to the elderly and making them feel special too.”