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Showing Love for Our Elders One Letter at a Time

How a young man's love for his grandpa turned into a movement


spinner image a woman on a couch surrounded by letters and a dog
Courtesy: Love For Our Elders

There is a special bond between the old and young. You can see the joy on a grandparent’s face when a grandchild bounds into the room and runs forward for a big hug. And the gleam in the grandchild’s eyes when a grandparent beams with pride over a card trick the child has performed a hundred times.

As a young boy, Jacob Cramer, who is now 22 and a preschool teacher, cherished this connection with his grandparents. After his beloved grandpa passed away in 2010, Jacob began volunteering as the “bingo boy” at his local senior center.

As he got to know the residents, he realized many never had visitors and some rarely heard from their families. Understanding their isolation, he began writing letters to his older friends, bringing joy to everyone who received one. In turn, the letter writing helped reduce the loneliness he felt from missing his grandfather.

Love For Our Elders was born in 2013, when Jacob was 13. Today, there are members in 32 high school and college campus chapters who volunteer in senior communities and write letters.

“I started this love letter initiative as a lonely middle schooler,” Jacob told AARP Experience Counts . Since then, it's become a beautiful community that has connected with our elders through more than 300,000 letters. I'm so proud of that. A single letter can change someone's world.”

spinner image letters for our elders founder jacob cramer posing with letters
Love For Our Elders founder Jacob Cramer.
Courtesy: Love For Our Elders

This was the case for Janna Clark’s mother, whose life was transformed by receiving letters. Before this happened, Janna’s heart would break every time her mother opened the mailbox at her assisted living place, only to discover “nothing in here but junk, again.”

 “I couldn't have ever imagined what an impact finding Jacob and his organization would bring,” Janna said.  Trying out one of the features of Love For Our Elders, Janna nominated her mom for a letter-writing campaign. The missives poured in.

“I expected her to get 15-20 letters, but overall, Mom probably got nearly 1,000,” Janna said. “Truly a cross-section of American humanity.”,

Natasha Rosenberg also credits the organization with changing the life of her mother, who lives in Australia. Natasha said she feels guilt as immense as the distance between them, even more so since she recently placed her mother in an aging care facility.

spinner image letters from Love for our Elders on a table
Letters sent through the Love For Our Elders campaign.
Love For Our Elders

“When younger, I was in a Girl Club, and we would take the time to write a letter each meeting that the Leader would then deliver to an aged person’s home,” Natasha said. “At the end of the year, we would visit that home and it stuck with me how alone they feel.”

Natasha said she appreciates how “Jacob and team have done a lovely job of keeping it simple for the not-so-techie people.”

Studies show that millions of senior citizens live with loneliness and social isolation. 

Loneliness is the feeling of being alone, regardless of the amount of social contact. Social isolation is a lack of social connections. Both conditions can lead to a higher risk of depression, anxiety, dementia and other serious medical conditions.

“When I started writing love letters, there wasn't any large-scale initiative combating social isolation in senior communities through letters,” said Jacob, a Yale graduate. “It's a simple call-to-action that anyone can join and resonates with people who have elders in their lives.”

With his new profession in the classroom, Jacob understands the importance of encouraging children to write. He has combined that with his love for older adults into a children’s book called 'Grandma's Letter Exchange.'

spinner image several people representing multiple generations smile while talking to each other at a barbecue

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“I've always wanted to do something more to engage young kids in letter-writing. Grandma's Letter Exchange teaches kids the power of the pen, how to address a letter and what to write.”

Love For Our Elders suggestss that you interact with older adults by singing, dancing or playing an instrument at a senior center or an organization of World War II veterans, or volunteering to read to assisted living residents.

Most of all, you can show them you care and let them know they are not alone by taking the time to visit an elderly friend and ask about their lives. Even those who have dementia often remember the days of their youth.

Share your experience: How do you make sure older people in your circle are cared for and know they're loved?

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