The Alliance for Greater Good’s holiday card-writing campaign delivered over 1,525 personalized cards to hundreds of residents in local assisted living centers.
Spreading Joy to Assisted Living Center Residents
On Monday, December 19, 2022, we delivered over 1,525 cards to four seacoast-area assisted living centers. They were delighted to receive personalized messages of joy, hope, and love, along with cookies donated by Hannaford’s and Market Basket in Portsmouth and Shaw’s in Stratham.
This year participating facilities included Edgewood Centre, Langdon Place, Webster at Rye, and Wentworth Senior Living. They provided a list of residents’ first names and a fun fact about each resident, which enabled our card-writing elves to craft a personal message. We had such a tremendous response to our call for elves that each resident received a bundle of 4-5 personalized holiday cards. The senior recipients of the amazing cards truly appreciated the efforts of all our 179 card-writers, and we are grateful for the time that they took out of their busy holiday schedules to bring such joy to strangers.
"I would like you (All) to know that your cards were greatly appreciated by the Residents of Webster.” - Corinne Townsend, Activities Director at Webster at Rye
"It was so nice meeting you all when you delivered the cards to Langdon Place. Our residents really enjoyed the personalized touch. They also enjoyed the cookies. We would be happy to participate in this program again." - Mike Hastings, Recreation Director at Langdon Place
Something that we especially love about our Share the Joy event is that it not only touches the hearts of the hundreds of seniors who receive them, but it is incredibly meaningful to the many elves and children who write the cards. It brings out the spirit of giving and reminds us how simple acts of kindness can brighten the day for others and ourselves. Here are just a few of the comments received from some of the card-writing elves.
"...thank you so much for coordinating! I think it brought me as much joy as I hope it brings the residents who receive the cards. I had a resident who enjoys poetry and remembered the Robert Frost poem 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' from his New Hampshire series which I always loved that I ended up printing out and putting in the card for her. Such fun! Looking forward to doing it again next year." - Rachael B
"My family and I enjoyed writing them. My son especially enjoyed drawing a picture of a dog for one of the residents that noted they like dogs. Please keep me on your list for next year. A new family tradition for us!" - Heather S
“Thank you for the opportunity to write cards to seniors at WSL. I lost my dad 3 months ago. He was at a care facility in Maryland. The experience really impacted me, and I feel so much for seniors at places of care. Doing this felt right, and a way to honor my dad. I will never forget the residents and staff where he was..." - Karina Q
We thank our assisted living facility contacts, card-writing elves, volunteers, and local supermarkets for spreading joy this holiday season.
For more information or to share ideas for future events, email the Alliance for Greater Good at alliance.greatergood@gmail.com, visit its website and follow it on Facebook and Instagram.
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