Spreading joy and kindness to the residents of Carlton House

For the past two years, 11-year-old Atlas Parker has made it his mission to spread joy and kindness to the residents of Carlton House of Oak Bay, by sending dozens of handwritten cards.

Atlas’s journey began during a casual stroll with his dad, past the independent living senior’s residence in the Oak Bay Village. Thinking out loud, he wondered what he could do to spread joy to the residents of Carlton House over the upcoming holidays.

After some thought, he came up with a simple approach, but a powerful idea: Atlas would make handwritten cards.

With no time to spare, he enlisted his mother’s help to purchase Christmas cards for residents, and coordinate with Carlton House Staff.

When the pair reached out, Wellness Program Manager Debby Macmurchie was delighted to help, providing first names for recipients so that Atlas could get started. “It was really amazing to see,” says Macmurchie, who gladly passed along the cards to residents. “When someone so young takes the initiative to connect with seniors like that, the mutual benefits are huge.”

Upon receiving the cards, many residents were thrilled, and reciprocated his kindness by sending cards back, telling him about their lives and asking him about his. One resident, a talented painter, even created a special masterpiece for Atlas, who was elated by the unexpected gift.

Now, two years later, what started as a beautiful holiday gesture has expanded to Valentine’s Day, with Atlas handdelivering heart themed cards to Carlton House, and on several occasions, meeting his pen pals in-person.

Looking back, it is certain that Atlas has not only achieved his goal of spreading joy at Carlton House, but he has completely surpassed it. He’s made genuine connections throughout the community, inspired others with his kindness, and truly become a young ambassador of joy.