Penpals Connecting The Generations

As the chaplain at both Willow Grove Primary School and an aged care facility in Traralgon, pen pals were an opportunity to connect our students with the elderly residents. Both teams saw great value in building this connection. The teachers encouraged the students to create some nice cards which I was able to take to the residents.

Many of the residents don’t have a lot of connection with friends and family at the moment and they were thrilled to receive the cards. A lot of them have grandkids they are not able to see so it was really encouraging to see the cards bring a smile to the residents’ faces as they realised someone was thinking of them. It was heart-warming to see them writing back to the students to thank them for their cards.

The students now have a real understanding of what it’s like to be isolated and this has helped them connect with the residents. It has also given the students a safe way to practically help other people in their community during this time.

It’s my hope that our pen pal program will continue after the students return to school. It would be great for relationships to continue to be built between the students and residents. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, the students could come to the aged care facility to meet those they’ve been writing to.

— John, Willow Grove Primary School Chaplain