Tag Archives: teen activism

Love for the Elderly puts smiles on seniors’ faces with handwritten letters

How Love for the Elderly uplifts seniors with handwritten letters and inspiring video messages from you!

By Kristen Kabal

We’ve all gotten a taste of what it’s like to be socially distanced from everyone and it’s not fun. For the senior community in nursing homes and hospice care this time is exceptionally lonely and isolating since they’re not permitted visitors. 

So 19-year Jacob Cramer is doing something about it. 

When Cramer was 10-years-old his grandfather, whom he was extremely close to, died. 

“I cried for weeks knowing my grandpa, a role model in my life, would no longer be there to give me his famous criticism about “not shaking hands like a dead fish,” to go on weekly strolls through our neighborhood park, or to celebrate with on holidays. Nor could he attend my wedding, meet my future children, or hug me ever again,” he wrote on his site. 

RELATED: Watch how this young LGBTQ+ advocate is raising money for Trevor Project

But Cramer quickly turned that grief into a way to give back. He jumped into action by volunteering at his local nursing home so he could help impact their lives the way they impacted so many. While volunteering, he saw firsthand how many seniors didn’t get visitors. Knowing that others across the nation experienced the same isolation, Cramer started writing letters to the senior community when he was 13. Soon, others began to join his mission and Love for the Elderly was created. The organization aims to inspires others to interact with elders and bridge the age barrier.  

“In 2014, only around 1 in ten donors self-reported contributing to organizations that help the elderly. Compare this to half supporting places of worship and a quarter supporting animal protection organizations,” Cramer stated on his site. 

Anyone is encouraged to handwrite a letter or send a 30 second inspiring video message. 

Since Cramer started Love for the Elderly 100,000 cards have been sent out the senior community. The need for them to feel loved and wanted has always been there, but even more so this year due to the pandemic because many are separated from families and their community. 

So how does Love for the Elderly work?

Cramer and his team of volunteer Kindness Ambassadors find senior communities to work with. They sort through all the letters received, read every one, bundle them in the quantity a center requests and send it to one person which helps make it so much easier on these senior communities to distribute.

It’s that simple. So send your letter to the address below.

Love For The Elderly
P. O. Box 24248
Cleveland, OH 44124
USA

Send your video message to @love4theelderly on Instagram or Love for the Elderly’s Facebook page. 
Volunteers are also needed to help read and sort letters. For more information click here. 
 

Watch how this young LGBTQ+ advocate is raising money for The Trevor Project

Watch Charli Williams proudly show off her sewing skills that she’s using to support a good cause–LGBTQ+  rights.

By Heather Newgen

For the last 50 years, Pride Month has been a global celebration to promote equality and LGBTQ+ rights, as well as to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Riots, a rebellion against discriminatory police raids of gay bars in New York. Every June people take to the streets for Pride parades and other public festivities to celebrate social and self-acceptance, the freedom to love whomever and to raise awareness for issues the LGBTQ+  faces. But, this year all events have canceled or moved online due to coronavirus, so this 12-year-old girl from Oklahoma found a creative way to show her support.

Charli Williams started making scrunchies a few months ago as a way to make money to pay for her dance lessons, but quickly used her skillset to help others. She’s sewing rainbow themed masks and scrunchies and selling them for $5.00 each. She’s donating $2.00 from every sale The Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to the LGBTQ+ community.

“Being a teenager is hard anyways and some kids don’t have a parent or adult they can talk to about their feelings. The Trevor Project can help with that. Mental health is important, Williams told The Voluntourist. [This] “is important to me because not enough people are supportive. Some people don’t like people who are LGBTQ+. For anyone who is anti-LGBTQ,  Williams’ message is, “I live by the rule of ” if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. People who don’t support other’s differences don’t realize that words really can hurt. Words can really change a person’s outlook on life. A single word can change a person’s life.”

RELATED: 12-year-old girl makes rainbow themed masks for Pride Month and donates proceeds to The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project offers a judgement free space and life-saving resources for LGBTQ+, but relies on volunteers to join their team of trained crisis counselors, who are available via email, text or phone 24 hours a day. In addition, volunteers are always needed and welcomed to help with youth outreach and advocacy.  For more information check out their website. If you’d like to help Charli raise money, you can donate fabric or buy one of her items. You can message her on Instagram @scrunchiesbycharli or email her.