Since being dismissed from in-person classes in March, Wilson High School junior Satyamuny Weir felt the need to not only take the pandemic seriously but do something with his newfound free time. He noticed an outpouring of love for first responders, hospital workers and youth, but thought seniors were being somewhat ignored.
That led him to an idea: hand-write personal letters of encouragement, hope and connection to seniors stuck in quarantine or isolation across Southern California.
“Many people in nursing homes can’t see their families because of the fear of coronavirus, and I felt that,” Weir said. “I started writing letters myself about four weeks ago, but I wanted to reach more people and knew that I would need volunteers. It was really about being compassionate toward some that might be suffering.”
After seeing the potential of his solo project grow—senior citizens responded enthusiastically to the letters, finding the touch of handwriting to be something far more intimate than an email or mass-printed note—Weir knew he had to somehow expand.
Using his resources as president of both the National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation at Wilson, he was immediately connected with more than 100 students. This permitted him to not only focus on organizing, but give students who participate a bonus by counting the letter writing as community service hours.
On top of this, he’s expanding his kindness operations to leaders at other high schools as well as involving Leadership Long Beach, which has its own project of handing out letters to seniors, first responders and hospital workers.
“Today and tomorrow I will be sitting outside of Wilson to pick up letters while handing out letter papers for those that wish to contribute,” Weir said. “I hope to be getting at least 40 handwritten letters a week, and I would like to continue this until the coronavirus passes.”
After each weekly collection, he hands the letters to Karen Widerynski from the California Association of Health Facilities. Working with thousands of nursing homes across Southern California, Widerynski can distribute the letters to nearly all corners of the Southland. People can also send the letters themselves to Support for Seniors, 3919 Myrtyle Ave., Long Beach, 90807.
So what, exactly, does Weir encourage people to write about? He has a list that he uses with each participant:
- A little bit of information about yourself to make the letters warm and personal
- A piece of artwork on the cover of the letter
- A riddle or a joke
- A piece of origami
- Let them know that someone is thinking of them and looking out for them
- What you plan on doing after the coronavirus quarantine is over
- How brave they are being during these hard times
In his words, “Simple words of encouragement and compassion.”
Weir will be set up in front of the entrance to Wilson High, located at 4400 E. 10th St., from 1 to 2 p.m.