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.[1]
 | |
| Founded | December 2013 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jacob Cramer |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Purpose | Humanitarian/Activism |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Website | loveforourelders |
History
editAs 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 300,000 letters around the world.[2][3][4]
The organization compiled videos and seniors' stories during the coronavirus pandemic for elders it could not reach due to mailing restrictions.[5]
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."[6]
Annually, the organization hosts Letter to an Elder Day on February 26, encouraging others to write a letter to an elder who inspires them.[7][8][9] 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.[2][10]
Press
editIn 2016, Jacob spoke on the organization's initiatives on national daytime talk show Harry.[11] Later that year, it was featured on the cover of American Profile. In 2022, the organization was one of three nonprofits named by Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve as a 2022 Culture Catalyst.[12]
Its work has also been featured in CNN[13], Glamour,[14] O, The Oprah Magazine,[15] Parade,[16] National Geographic,[17] Rede Record,[18] The Boston Globe,[19] NPR,[20] and USA Today.[21]
References
edit- ^ "Love For Our Elders". Love For Our Elders. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ a b Emaus, Janie (April 4, 2024). "Showing Love for Our Elders One Letter at a Time". AARP.
- ^ Harris, Lauren. "Letters of Hope – How One Teen Spreads Smiles to the Elderly". Parade. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ "Good Old Fashioned Letters Are Putting Smiles on Seniors' Faces - Good Deeds Day". Good Deeds Day. February 7, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
- ^ "Sharing Love, One Letter at a Time". Next Avenue. 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "'Love For Our Elders' sends letters to seniors in isolation". KNXV. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
- ^ "Heartstrings of Arcadia's Eileen Chen tugged by upcoming 'Letter to an Elder Day'". Pasadena Star News. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
- ^ "'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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Amanda Koehn. "Pepper Pike teen shows Love for the Elderly on TV's 'Harry'". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Love For Our Elders is a 2022 Culture Catalyst!, retrieved 2022-01-14
- ^ Bergeron, Ryan. "Here's how to spend your spring break volunteering with your kids when you're stuck at home". CNN. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "31 Ways to Givew Back This Holiday Season". Glamour. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
- ^ Earley, Brigitt (2020-12-04). "50 Ways to Have as Much Fun as Ever This Christmas". Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
- ^ Harris, Lauren (2016-12-09). "Letters of Hope – How One Teen Spreads Smiles to the Elderly". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "Here's how kids can volunteer, even from home". Family. 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
- ^ Love For The Elderly (March 4, 2017), Brazil Students Pen-Palled USA Seniors. This is what happened., retrieved March 5, 2017
- ^ Raczka, Rachel (10 April 2020). "How to lend a helping hand from home". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ^ "NPR Sound of Ideas - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ Abrams, Rhonda. "Abrams: 5 ways your small business can act like Santa". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-09-03.