Girls Scouts Write Positive Letters to Seniors, Healthcare Workers

Girl+Scout+Cadette+Olivia+safely+delivers+a+batch+of+letters+for+nurses+at+the+Virginia+Hospital+Center.+

Courtesy of Olivia

Girl Scout Cadette Olivia safely delivers a batch of letters for nurses at the Virginia Hospital Center.

Delaney and Olivia sent cards to health care workers and senior citizens at Chesterbrook Assisted Living during the pandemic. (Photo by Delaney P.)

After such a rough year for health care workers and senior citizens, Girl Scouts Delaney P. and Olivia G. decided to step up and make them smile. This past Fall, Delaney and Olivia were working on their Girl Scout Silver Award project, which is the highest award a cadette can achieve, by taking action to make a difference in the community.

Delaney, a 7th grader at Longfellow, and her partner Olivia wanted to achieve that by making health care workers and senior citizens feel

Photo by Delaney P.

hopeful and appreciated. They encouraged their peers and classmates to help write uplifting letters to brighten their day and spread positivity throughout the community.

“It only takes a minute to create cards, but it can brighten someone’s day instantly!” Said Delaney

Delaney and Olivia are working as a team for their silver award project.

“We paired up together because we both really wanted to make a difference, and we weren’t sure what it was yet, but we really wanted to help,” said Delaney.

When looking for a subject to focus on, coronavirus seemed like the obvious choice.

“The purpose of the Silver Award is to fix an issue in our community. The obvious issue is COVID-19. But of course, Delaney and I couldn’t fix a global pandemic,” said Olivia.

Delaney and Olivia decided they wanted to write letters to the seniors at Chesterbrook Assisted Living, which is right next to Longfellow Middle School and to nurses at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington and Long Beach Memorial Hospital in California.  Delaney’s mother used to work at the hospital, her grandparents volunteer there, and her brother was born there, so it was a natural choice.  After they found their focus, they got to work.

“I tried to work on cards at least an hour a day during the weekdays,” said Olivia. Delaney and Olivia ended up making around 250 cards each as well as recruiting 24 other students to make letters and working about 45 hours on all the cards in total.

The Chesterbrook Assisted Living website encourages community groups, family members, and local students to send cards to the seniors to brighten their day, and they did just that.

The seniors and health workers were delighted by the cards. A worker at the Chesterbrook assisted living center reached out to the girls to say how much they appreciated the cards.

“She said the seniors absolutely loved the cards and that it made their day, and that was really great to hear because it made it feel as if it was all worth it,” said Delaney.

As Delaney and Olivia continue to work on their silver award project, they continue to make a difference in the community.

“By spreading love and appreciation toward the healthcare workers, I hope that we made them feel like someone noticed them and all the hard work they were doing. I hope it helped their mental state, and I hope they feel very loved. The senior citizens were, of course, quarantined in the Chesterbrook residence. They could not see their families. By writing to them, I hope we brought some cheer and love into their lives at a time when their families were unable to do so,” said Olivia.