Volunteer from Home: Write friendly, uplifting letters to senior citizens in aged care homes and senior programs
(Letters Against Isolation)
Opportunity Details: Volunteer from Home: Write friendly, uplifting letters to senior citizens in aged care homes and senior programs
Contact | Lindsay, Lead Community Service Liaison, Letters Against Isolation; Email: Lindsay.G.LAI@gmail.com |
Duties | Letters Against Isolation volunteers send friendly, handwritten letters to senior citizens in aged care homes and programs. Join us in writing thoughtful, unique letters and cards to seniors in care facilities in Canada and worldwide:
To get started, register as an individual, student or group on our website. You will receive our weekly newsletter and gain access to our web portal, where you’ll sign up to mail letters to any of our designated partner facilities. We are seeking letter writers who will participate year-round, individually or as a group, in English or one of 30 different languages, across the US or globally. Just one letter makes a difference! |
More Info Link | lettersagainstisolation.com/ |
Benefits | Many volunteers have reported that they feel as much joy in writing as the readers feel when they receive our letters. |
Clients | We write to senior citizens in aged care homes, senior programs and senior centers. We mailed the letters to facility staff, who review and distribute them to the seniors. |
Suitable for Highschool Credit Hours | Yes |
Suitable For | Adults (18+) ; Seniors (55+) ; Youth (12-18) ; Highschool students ; Post-secondary students ; Persons with a hearing impairment ; Persons with a mental disability ; Persons with a physical disability ; Men ; Women ; Newcomers / English as a second language ; Couples ; Families ; Groups ; Individuals ; Community Groups ; Workplaces / Corporate Groups |
Areas of Interest | Friend / Penpal ; Group / Family Volunteering ; Hospice Care ; Senior's Activity Support ; Social Interaction ; Translation / Languages / Interpretation ; Volunteer from Home / Virtual ; Writing / Editing |
Skills/Experience | Communication & Interpersonal Skills - Empathize and connect with a senior citizen to make them feel special ; Creativity - Perfect opportunity for letter writers and card crafters ; Elder Care - We write to elders. ; Friendly & Outgoing - Each letter should be friendly and personal, like a conversation. ; Positive / Cheerful Demeanor - Letters should be positive and uplifting. ; Self-Motivated / Work Independently - You’ll volunteer from home on your own time at your own pace. ; Translation & Languages - We write letters in 30 different languages, including German, Chinese and Italian. ; Writing & Editing - Use your own words to write unique and personal letters. |
Commitment Length | Short Term ; Long Term (Minimum of 6 months) ; Medium Term (4 months to 1 year) ; Long Term ; You can write any amount of letters, and there is no commitment required. However, we are hoping to increase our ongoing volunteer base. |
Interaction Level | Solitary - We write with no expectation of receiving a response. Many of the seniors we write to do not have the physical ability or resources to respond to us. ; One-on-one - Students requesting verification of their time for community service hours will be assigned to a liaison who will work one-on-one with them throughout their service by reading each letter and providing feedback. ; Small Group - Volunteer with friends, family, school, employer, or organization. ; Large Group - We have partnered with some larger employers and organizations that offer letter-writing events to their employees and members. ; Virtual Volunteering - We are a virtual organization with no physical location. |
Dates and Times | Volunteer from home when it’s convenient for you. Choose your own hours and commitment. |
Seasons | Year Round |
Accessibility | Not Applicable - This is a virtual, self-directed opportunity. |
Number of Positions | Ajax ; Amherstview ; Ancaster ; Beaverton ; Bowmanville ; Brock ; Brooklin ; Cannington ; Chatham-Kent ; Clarington ; Courtice ; Durham Region ; Grimsby ; Maple ; Newmarket ; Oakville ; Orono ; Oshawa ; Pickering ; Port Perry ; Richmond Hill ; Scugog ; Uxbridge (Township of) ; Whitby 25 individual(s) needed in total. We write to several facilities in the Toronto area and across Canada. There is no limit to the number of volunteers that can join us. More volunteers means we can reach out to write to more facilities. Tens of thousands of people across the globe have written with with us since 2020. |
Training | We do not provide structured training, but we do offer guidelines, tips, videos and sample letters on our website and social media. |
Cost | The only cost to you is the price of stationery, pens and postage. You can also hand-deliver your letter to a nearby facility. |
Police Check | Not Required |