In today’s screen centered world, many people consider letter writing to be merely a quaint throwback to B’nai Mitzvah and wedding and baby shower “thank you,” notes. But during the past year and a half, a revival of the handwritten letter has taken place between local seniors and Jewish Family Service volunteers.

Anna Sir, Helping Hands Coordinator for JFS, says the idea for the pen pal program evolved naturally during the early days of March 2020. “At the beginning of the pandemic, volunteers were galvanized to call the older adults who were on JFS’ radar,” she says. The idea to write letters sprung up as a way to reach more people. “This was a fun thing to do because everyone of any age could participate and people just love getting things in the mail.” She says in addition to letters, some people had their children draw pictures and of course, photos were exchanged.