When Caitlyn Murphy was a freshman, she hand-made greeting cards and delivered them to older residents of nearby retirement homes to earn service hours at her school. In the process, she learned from an executive at one home that the residents wanted to send cards, not just receive them.
This motivated her in her sophomore year to start a school club, Connecting Through Cards, with goals of recruiting fellow students to make blank cards for elderly residents send to loved ones and to become educated about the issues that the elderly face. Now, about 100 cards a month are delivered from the group to local retirement homes.
In addition to preparing and delivering the cards, Caitlyn visits retirement homes often to hold workshops in which the residents come together, chat, and listen to music while they make cards they can later send with personal messages to their loved ones. The residents share stories with each other and friendships and connections grow. Caitlyn even arranged for an orchestra to play Christmas music at a retirement community center last year.
As her elderly friends taught her more about their feelings of isolation and loneliness due to lack of transportation, disabilities and budgetary constraints, Caitlyn’s desire to help alleviate these problems grew. She now publicizes elder issues and encourages a wider range of people to get involved by giving talks, hosting a booth at school functions, and through her website, Connecting Through Cards and Instagram account @connectingthrucards. Recent Instagram posts have garnered over 700 viewings. She also creates audiovisual programs about elder issues which are shown regularly to new and returning members of her school club, most of whom were previously unaware of such concerns.
Caitlyn says she has made numerous elderly friends, has come to marvel at their life stories and has learned how they often feel ignored and disrespected by the world and sometimes even by family. She says it has given her the understanding that peace is not simply a matter of non-violence but also the creation of communities where every person feels valued and safe. She plans to study pre-law in college, opening the possibility of her becoming a legal advocate in elder law someday.