Yoselin Sanchez, a sixth-grader at north Alabama’s Walnut Grove Elementary School, has some kind words for the elderly who can’t see loved ones due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I know we are on some tough times, but I promise to the Lord that this letter will cheer you up, Sanchez wrote in a note embellished with color pencils and red hearts that will be mailed to her local nursing home, Have an awesome, loveable and bright day!”

Those above the age of 65 are more likely to experience serious symptoms if they catch the coronavirus.

Because of that risk, many nursing homes across the state are protecting their residents by closing their doors to visitors and family members. But a couple of nursing homes are requesting people send letters or postcards to their fellow seniors. Teachers and students across the state are fulfilling that need.

Walnut Grove fifth and sixth grade teacher Lori Alexander is sending letters from five of her students to the Gardens of Madison nursing home. Since Madison County Schools closed on Monday due to the coronavirus, Alexander asked her students if they would like to write notes to seniors through her Google Classroom, an online service that helps teachers distribute and grade assignments. She made videos teaching the students how to write a letter and how to address an envelope.

Alexander said the activity gave students the opportunity to develop their writing skills as well as their compassion for others.

Just a little something to brighten your day… Students from Prattville Junior High School are busy creating smiles!... Posted by Baptist Health - Central Alabama on Thursday, March 19, 2020

“It started off as a writing and learning assignment, but I wanted my kids to see that there’s a much bigger picture and to see how other people are being affected (by the coronavirus),” Alexander said. “So, I wanted them to encourage residents who aren’t able to see their loved ones at this time.”

McGuffey Healthcare in Gadsden, Westside Terrace Healthcare in Dothan and Capitol Hill Healthcare in Montgomery are a few of the nursing homes that have made callouts on social media for people to send letters or electronic cards. Teri Sumbry, spokesperson of the facilities, said normally the staff would uplift residents’ spirits by allowing the students to visit and sing, dance or do skits for them. The coronavirus has pushed them to be more creative on how to keep residents connected to their families and the community.

Since students are out of school and parents are working from home, Sumbry said drawing pictures or writing notes to send to the elderly is an encouraging activity to do together.

“We believe that just because a person lives in a nursing home, or a long-term healthcare center, it doesn’t mean they stop being part of the community,” Sumbry said. “Children are naturally creative and not only is this a fun activity, but it is an activity that can make a difference.”

The seniors aren’t the only ones who benefit from the letters. Carey Arensberg, a fifth-grade teacher at George Hall Elementary in Mobile, said it was a therapeutic assignment for her class on Wednesday.

Arensberg said most of her students rely on social media for their news. The information the kids are seeing on TikTok and YouTube triggered their fears about how the outbreak was affecting the world around them. Arensberg comforted her class as they researched and read about the outbreak together.

When the students learned the elderly couldn’t have visitors anymore at the nursing homes, Arensberg encouraged them to write letters to those at Little Sisters of the Poor, which is a Catholic nursing home located about two miles from their school.

As they scribbled down their letters, Arensberg could feel the students’ tension melt away. She said the activity taught them that the social side effects of the coronavirus don’t always have to be negative.

Their notes made Arensberg teary-eyed:

Hope you don’t feel alone, one student wrote.

Hope you know people are here for you, wrote another.

“It was so sweet to see them embrace those they knew were going to be lonely,” Arensberg said. “It makes me feel better to settle some of the students’ fears and to make them feel like they are playing a better part in bringing a positive light.”

The letters deepened Walnut Grove’s relationship with seniors who live down the street from their campus. Alexander said she passes by the Gardens of Madison nursing home every weekday for work, but this is the first time her class has done something for the residents in that facility. Now that the school counselor has been keeping in touch with the nursing home’s director, Alexander is thinking about letting her students visit their elderly neighbors once school is back in session in an effort to promote compassion.

“There’s so much negativity,” Alexander said. “If I could encourage my students or help them realize that by just doing little things to help people, it means so much. It may seem little to them, but it will be big to the people receiving it.”