blue and red illustration of a valentine

Letters Against Isolation

When they saw the toll the pandemic was taking on their typically social grandparents, Shreya and Saffron Patel were inspired to help self-isolating seniors feel love from afar. Thus Letters Against Isolation was born. This Valentine's Day, we're inviting our community (and their children!) to create cards for seniors far and wide.

What inspired you to start Letters Against Isolation?

Our grandparents did! They live in the UK, and were asked to self isolate back in March. They're all very social, so you can imagine how hard this was for them. One day, my grandmother got a letter from a friend, and it made her entire week. We realized how powerful letters could be, and how lonely Covid could be for seniors all over the world. We decided to spread some joy and started Letters Against Isolation.

Can you tell us more about why it is so important for seniors to receive letters during this time?

Senior loneliness is an issue during normal times, but Covid has made it much worse. To protect their health, many seniors have not been able to see their friends and family regularly, if at all. I am sure you can imagine how isolating that might be. Receiving a letter brings much-needed connection, hope, and joy to those who receive them. Seniors read them again and again, and display them all over their rooms to remind themselves that someone out there is thinking of them. One woman we spoke to even compared them to love letters she received as a young woman!

Sisters, Shreya and Saffron Patel, smiling in a kitchen while they write letters to those isolated and quarantining due to the COVID-19 pandemic

You recently passed an impressive milestone of more than 100,000 letters! Did you have any idea it would grow so quickly?

We really didn't! When we first started, we wanted to try to make a difference in our own community. The idea of writing letters really resonated with both nursing homes and volunteers, so we grew beyond our wildest dreams. It is so empowering to know that we and our volunteers have touched so many lives.

What is your best advice for creating letters with the littlest volunteers?

Have fun and be creative! A lot of seniors really appreciate kids' cards, so break out the pens and paints and make some art! (We also reached out to our friends at Darcy Miller Designs who shared these easy templates for a ValenTime's newspaper card and a fun DIY option.)

What are some of your favorite examples of the impact Letters Against Isolation has had?

Shreya and I have had the pleasure of interviewing a few of the seniors we serve for our blog. Donna, one of the lovely seniors we serve, showed me the letters that she has received. She loves to keep the letters and cards in a binder so that she can look through them when she is feeling down. When I asked her how the letters make her feel, she told me,"Reading the letters reminds me that I'm not alone in this isolation period, and that we are all in this together. It is touching to see that people of all ages care about people in other communities. Overall, it makes me feel uplifted.”

Another of the lovely seniors we serve, Florence, shared with us a story that really touched us. She told us that one of the letters she received brought up a fond memory of her teenage years. When she was a teenager, she exchanged love letters with a boy named Michael from the UK. Florence treasures the letters and cards she receives from Letters Against Isolation just as dearly as she treasures her love letters.

Want to get involved?

Visit Letters Against Isolation or mail your letters to an address below! Remember to make them cheerful and be creative. Please do not include your address, phone number or anything else that would identify yourself and do not send gifts.

Southern Pride Senior Services
PO Box 1372, Vienna, IL 62995

St. Paul’s Senior Services
Sunshine for Seniors Attn: Craig Smith
328 Maple Street
San Diego, CA 92103