We recently heard about a wonderful initiative by Dulcie, one of our Year 11s, who was touched by the plight of care home residents during the lockdown. Dulcie wanted to raise their spirits, so she asked her fellow Year 11 students to write letters to the elderly men and women in a care home,  which she then delivered. We asked her  all about her lovely idea.

What gave you the idea?

In the last few days of the Spring term we knew we were about to be finishing school.  I think we were all feeling uneasy about what was going to happen.  I saw that a care home in Buckinghamshire had already locked down weeks before and that the people who were living there were feeling lonely – it made me feel so sad for them, so I thought we could maybe cheer them up a bit with some letters. 

How did you organise and motivate the other Year 11 girls to write the letters?

To be honest it wasn’t difficult at all – the whole of Year 11 got behind the idea as soon as I mentioned it.  I told them on the Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday morning more than half of the girls in the year had handed me a letter or a card for me to send in. 

What sort of messages did the girls write?  

We all wrote about our personal experiences, our GCSES and the uncertainty of the time, but also some really fun things about our favourite music and things we were looking forward to doing when lockdown was over.  Basically just trying to cheer up the person reading it.  Some people drew pictures of flowers,  their cat etc.  Just little things, but hopefully it made their day when they read them and showed them that teenagers do care. 

How were the letters received by the Care Home?

My Dad and I drove to the Care Home and left them in a sealed package outside the door of the Home. We made sure they knew about the package, but obviously for hygiene purposes they weren’t able to open them for a week or so.    I’m so pleased that the men and women who opened the letters loved reading them.  The care home were really touched that so many of us had written the letters.   It is funny in a way that something so simple as a letter can touch someone and make them feel a bit better.  Hopefully, one day I can go in person and say ‘hi.’ 

I’m really passionate about helping old people. I think people of my age can really get a lot out of getting to know older people.   Obviously everyone was so inspired by captain Tom and I just want to continue working on providing support for that generation who know so much and have been through so much than us.   I decided in May to walk a marathon with my neighbour – social distancing all the way – raising money for AgeUK .  We were overwhelmed by our street’s and our friends’ generosity – and we raised £2,500 for this amazing charity.   I’m hoping to keep coming up with initiatives. 

Well done, Dulcie and Year 11 – we are really proud of you. Keep up the great charity work!