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I’m so pleased with your positive responses to the article I shared in January about my at-home volunteer projects! So today I’ll share what I’m doing this month. You can easily do any of these projects with the residents of your senior living community. Or, you can do them as a family or as an individual.
Letters Against Isolation
I actually started working on this project in February, and I plan to continue it on a long-term basis. Letters Against Isolation invites volunteers to write uplifting letters to elders in several countries. They include residents of nursing homes, independent/assisted living, memory care, senior centers, and recipients of Meals on Wheels.
The group has a very well-managed website where organizations indicate how many letters they need each month. Then you can sign up for where you want your letters to go and how many you wish to write. So far, I’ve sent letters to seven states and one Canadian province.
You can also request letters for your senior living community. Simply access the registration form on their website.
Meals On Wheels
MOW has a special place in my heart. Last year when I was going through chemotherapy, I received Meals on Wheels for a few weeks. You can read about my experience with Meals on Wheels in this blog post from May.
This month, I decorated 40 lunch bags for meal recipients. If you’re interested in this project, you’ll want to call your local Meals on Wheels program in advance to be sure they accept decorated bags. I’ve also heard of people decorating placemats for MOW.
A Million Thanks
With all the unrest in the world today, I wanted to do more to thank our troops for their service. So, this month I’m writing letters to deployed men and women through A Million Thanks.
This program began in 2004 as a service project organized by a 15-year-old girl. Today they continue to send cards and letters of thanks to our troops serving around the world.
The organization also provides scholarships to children of fallen soldiers. Another of their programs that grants wishes to injured vets is on hold because of the pandemic; however, they hope to have it up and running again soon.
Cards of Hope
Braid Mission, based in San Francisco, sponsors programs to support children in foster care. I love the meaning behind their name: “three or more intertwined threads woven together to make something strong and beautiful.”
One of Braid Mission’s programs is called Cards of Hope. They invite volunteers to send encouraging cards to kids in foster care. You can also send cards to social workers and other staff who work with the children.
I sent my cards directly to Braid Mission for distribution. However, you could also call your local foster care program to see if they need similar cards.
I would love to hear your suggestions for more volunteer projects I can do from home. Please share your ideas in the comment section!
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