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Love For Our Elders (formerly Love for the Elderly) is a United States–based nonprofit organization that aims to alleviate social isolation among older adults.

History

As a regular volunteer at his local senior living community, Jacob Cramer recognized chronic loneliness prevalent among the residents. In 2013, he began handwriting kind, uplifting letters for senior living communities, a program that has since sent more than 750,000 letters around the world.

The organization compiled videos and seniors' stories during the coronavirus pandemic for elders it could not reach due to mailing restrictions.

On September 15, 2020, the organization announced its new name, Love For Our Elders. A statement from its founder said, "We’ve come to realize that our organization’s name included language that contradicted the work we pour our hearts into every day."

Annually, the organization hosts Letter to an Elder Day on February 26, encouraging others to write a letter to an elder who inspires them. On March 19, 2024, Cramer published a picture book with the nonprofit called Grandma's Letter Exchange that invites young children to write their first letter.

References

1. "Love For Our Elders". Love For Our Elders. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
2. ^ Emaus, Janie (April 4, 2024). "Showing Love for Our Elders One Letter at a Time". AARP.
3. Harris, Lauren. "Letters of Hope – How One Teen Spreads Smiles to the Elderly". Parade. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
4. "Good Old Fashioned Letters Are Putting Smiles on Seniors' Faces - Good Deeds Day". Good Deeds Day. February 7, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
5. "Sharing Love, One Letter at a Time". Next Avenue. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
6. "Love For Our Elders on Instagram: "We're excited to announce that we're now called Love For Our Elders!⠀ ⠀ Read on to learn why we're changing our name:⠀ ⠀ We've come to…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
7. "'Love For Our Elders' sends letters to seniors in isolation". KNXV. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
8. "Heartstrings of Arcadia's Eileen Chen tugged by upcoming 'Letter to an Elder Day'". Pasadena Star News. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
9. "'It's really special to get a handwritten letter': Yale student pens letters of love to the elderly". WTNH.com. 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
10. Peter Chakerian, cleveland com (2024-03-21). "Kindland: Cramer, Elders nonprofit put pen to paper to battle loneliness for seniors". cleveland. Retrieved 2024-04-22.

• Organizations established in 2013
• Charities based in Ohio