The Letters of Love Program for Older Adults

Cleveland teen Jacob Cramer, 18, used his experiences as a nursing community volunteer to inform what eventually became the Love for the Elderly nonprofit, a global program to combat seniors' isolation and loneliness, reports Next Avenue . The organization works with more than 50,000 seniors, sending cards and letters to older adults in similar situations. "What challenges a lot of my volunteers is what to write," Cramer says. "In the first letter I ever wrote, the cover said 'You are amazing' and the inside said 'You are loved' with a little heart. It's cheesy, but for people, it means a lot. Especially when there's decoration." Cramer notes when recipients hang the letters up in their rooms in nursing and assisted living communities, or prop them up on their night stands, it can hopefully have a long-lasting impact. The nonprofit has since expanded to include the Sunshine Box, which encourages people to fill up a box with fun little objects and bring it into a nursing community near them, and a Senior Buddies pen pal program.