Kind at Heart starts letter-writing campaign for seniors
Kind at Heart Ministry started a 1,000 Love Letters campaign to help seniors combat loneliness during the covid-19 pandemic.
Seniors face the problem of loneliness all the time, but with tighter restrictions around them, such as social distancing and the closure of nursing homes to visitors, they are more isolated than ever, according to Pastor Wayne Thomas, director of Kind at Heart Ministries.
The nonprofit is asking community members to write personalized letters and cards of encouragement and drop them off at a box at the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce building. The cards and letters will be distributed to people in nursing homes in Siloam Springs and across Northwest Arkansas, he said. DaySpring is donating 100 boxes of cards for the project and letter writers can pick up a box when they drop off their cards.
“Get a card and personalize it by saying ‘Hey, I’m thinking about you, you are important, I am aware you are here locally, that you exist and I want to encourage you and help you through this,’” Thomas said.
Kind at Heart has set a goal of distributing at least 1,000 letters, but Thomas hopes the campaign will spread to other churches and organizations across the country, he said. People are also encouraged to send letters and cards to their own parents and grandparents, as well as neighbors, he said.
“Tell them they are not alone, how special they are to us and that we will be there for them,” Thomas said.
Kind at Heart is taking some extra steps to make sure the letter-writing campaign is safe and sanitary, he said. Once they are dropped off, cards and letters will be heated in an oven then put in an area where they will sit for 72 hours to make sure they aren’t inadvertently harboring the virus.
Thomas said Kind at Heart will continue the campaign for at least six to eight weeks, or longer depending on how long the pandemic lasts.
More information is available online at kinda theart.org/1,000. Letters may be mailed to Kind at Heart at 18561 Meadow View, Siloam Springs, AR, 72761 or dropped off at the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce at 101 N. Mt. Olive St.