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Forum
-> Relationships
-> Manners & Etiquette
amother
OP
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Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:40 am
My mother volunteered to write letters to seniors who are alone and need cheering up. This is through a Jewish (not frum) agency. What should she write about? All I keep thinking is that these should be phone calls so she can get to know the people and have a 2 sided interaction. Any suggestionson what to write?
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ShishKabob
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Wed, Jul 14 2021, 9:40 am
Is this going to be a correspondence? or a one time card in the mail?
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amother
Springgreen
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Wed, Jul 14 2021, 10:27 am
amother [ OP ] wrote: | My mother volunteered to write letters to seniors who are alone and need cheering up. This is through a Jewish (not frum) agency. What should she write about? All I keep thinking is that these should be phone calls so she can get to know the people and have a 2 sided interaction. Any suggestionson what to write? |
“This is a friendly note to let you know I am thinking of you and wishing you well. If you would like to talk, I can be reached at....”
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zaq
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Wed, Jul 14 2021, 10:54 am
I like the idea of a letter before a phone call, especially given the rampant telephone scams that have people leery of answering the phone at all. Before anything she should introduce herself and tell something about herself so the recipient has a handle on who this person is who's writing to them out of the blue.
Dear Ms. Nimwasser,
Good morning! My name is Hannah Miller and I'm a volunteer with DistantFriends4U. I'm writing to you because you or someone you love said you were interested in receiving friendly letters from new people.
First, a little about me: I'm in my fifties, married with three grown children, working as a school nurse in Omaha, Nebraska. I like movies from the 1930s and 40s, clean fiction, and baking. Housecleaning, not so much! I prefer comedy to drama, fiction to nonfiction, and ice cream to just about any other kind of food. I also love both making new friends and letter-writing, which has become something of a lost art. Imagine how thrilled I was to find out about DistantFriends, which lets me do both!
Please tell me a little about yourself and your interests, likes and dislikes and so on, and I will respond as soon as possible. May this be the start of a beautiful friendship!
Sincerely yours, Hannah Miller
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amother
Marigold
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Wed, Jul 14 2021, 10:59 am
Zaq, I can't like your posts enough!
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zaq
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Wed, Jul 14 2021, 11:33 am
amother [ Marigold ] wrote: | Zaq, I can't like your posts enough! |
Why, thank you!
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ShishKabob
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Thu, Jul 15 2021, 8:59 am
amother [ Marigold ] wrote: | Zaq, I can't like your posts enough! | Me too!
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amother
OP
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Thu, Jul 15 2021, 5:02 pm
ShishKabob wrote: | Is this going to be a correspondence? or a one time card in the mail? |
One time only letter.
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zaq
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Thu, Jul 15 2021, 5:34 pm
And the Organization didn’t give you any kind of suggestions? Is this a one time thing that is intended to be a one and done or a one time thing that it is hoped will lead to an ongoing correspondence? Because to be honest with you, the idea of a single letter from a total stranger seems, not precisely useless, but not very useful, either. A little condescending, actually, as in “oh let me write a letter to bring a little sunshine into your dark and dreary life. That’s my good deed for today, do I get a gold star?“
If it’s intended to be a one and done, then obviously the introductory letter that I wrote is not going to cut it. I don’t know what would. Do they at least tell you some thing about the person who is going to be receiving the letter? The fact that they are aged and living alone is hardly much of a descriptor.
If the person likes to read, you can tell them about a good book or books that you have read lately. If they are interested in sports, you can discuss your opinion of various sports teams.If they like to cook, you can send them a recipe And if they like crossword puzzles, you can enclose one for them to work on.
Absent any more information about the addressee, I think the best thing to do would be to send a picture postcard from your hometown with a note saying “greetings from Omaha, hog capital of the world! Hope you’re doing well and have a great day!“ Or else, if you can’t find a picture postcard, (somehowI doubt that there are many places that sell picture postcards from Lakewood New Jersey or Monsey New York) then send a picture postcard of a work of art or some scenic place and write on the back either “Isn’t Arizona beautiful? (Or isn’t the Mona Lisa beautiful?)Wish you were here. Wish I were there too! Hope you’re feeling well and have a great day!” Then at least they have a nice postcard to look at.
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challahchallah
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Thu, Jul 15 2021, 5:42 pm
zaq wrote: | And the Organization didn’t give you any kind of suggestions? Is this a one time thing that is intended to be a one and done or a one time thing that it is hoped will lead to an ongoing correspondence? Because to be honest with you, the idea of a single letter from a total stranger seems, not precisely useless, but not very useful, either. A little condescending, actually, as in “oh let me write a letter to bring a little sunshine into your dark and dreary life. That’s my good deed for today, do I get a gold star?“
If it’s intended to be a one and done, then obviously the introductory letter that I wrote is not going to cut it. I don’t know what would. Do they at least tell you some thing about the person who is going to be receiving the letter? The fact that they are aged and living alone is hardly much of a descriptor.
If the person likes to read, you can tell them about a good book or books that you have read lately. If they are interested in sports, you can discuss your opinion of various sports teams.If they like to cook, you can send them a recipe And if they like crossword puzzles, you can enclose one for them to work on.
Absent any more information about the addressee, I think the best thing to do would be to send a picture postcard from your hometown with a note saying “greetings from Omaha, hog capital of the world! Hope you’re doing well and have a great day!“ Or else, if you can’t find a picture postcard, (somehowI doubt that there are many places that sell picture postcards from Lakewood New Jersey or Monsey New York) then send a picture postcard of a work of art or some scenic place and write on the back either “Isn’t Arizona beautiful? (Or isn’t the Mona Lisa beautiful?)Wish you were here. Wish I were there too! Hope you’re feeling well and have a great day!” Then at least they have a nice postcard to look at. |
I agree. If it’s a one time only thing then go with a postcard or blank greeting card with a fun picture on the front. Then you can say one or two things about the subject of the card, say that you’re thinking of them, and close out the note.
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amother
OP
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Fri, Jul 16 2021, 11:35 am
[quote="zaq"]And the Organization didn’t give you any kind of suggestions? Is this a one time thing that is intended to be a one and done or a one time thing that it is hoped will lead to an ongoing correspondence? Because to be honest with you, the idea of a single letter from a total stranger seems, not precisely useless, but not very useful, either. A little condescending, actually, as in “oh let me write a letter to bring a little sunshine into your dark and dreary life. That’s my good deed for today, do I get a gold star?“
I totally agree.If there is no info about the person and/or no exchange of letters, it seems pointless. I kept saying this to my mother. But, she is not the type to give suggestions to the organization.
Ty for your input.
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