'Adopt a grandparent': Thousands write to care home residents for Christmas
Monday, December 27, 2021 @ 7:57 PM
OVER 9,000 letters have been sent in barely a week from members of the public to elderly residents in nursing homes as part of the nationwide 'Adopt a Grandparent' scheme.
More than 3,500 elderly nursing home residents have been ‘adopted’ nationwide, and Christmas letters from the public can be a huge comfort for those spending the festive season alone (photo: Adopta un Abuelo)
A campaign run year-round but which cranks up a gear at Christmas, the Adopta un Abuelo scheme has over 600 care homes on its books and support from at least 40 companies.
Anyone can join in from any part of the world via the Una Carta Para Un Abuelo ('A Letter for a Grandparent') website, and missives are printed off for elderly residents to read, or are read to them if they are no longer able to do so.
Within the first week of the festive letter-writing campaign, upwards of 9,000 had been penned and sent, many from children, given that around 500 schools nationwide have been participating as a class activity.
It concluded on Christmas Eve, after three weeks, and although the final 'letter count' has not been revealed as yet, last year saw in excess of 150,000 festive communications sent to senior citizens, and over a million hits on the website Unacartaparaunabuelo.org.
Spokeswoman for the start-up firm, Rebeca López, says the 'Adopt a Grandparent' scheme is about creating contact between different generations and supporting older people who are either lonely or at risk of being so.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com