Holiday Cards for Seniors
 

PANE is excited to conduct our 4th annual “Holiday Cards for Seniors” campaign this year!  And we’re looking for volunteers to send cards!  We’re collaborating again with Hearth Inc., a non-profit working to end elder homelessness through housing placement.  Hearth currently has 228 seniors in permanent housing and another 100 people they’re helping with outreach – let’s make sure everyone gets at least one card.  Since 2020, we’ve sent Hearth hundreds of cards – let’s keep the holiday tradition going!

Depending on when they receive cards (deadlines below), Hearth will distribute some for the December holidays and others for New Year’s. They say their senior residents love getting this boost from receiving cards during the holiday stretch.

Instructions are below & please RSVP to the email listed.  Our hope is that volunteers send two to three cards but more is a bonus!  Store-bought & homemade cards are welcomed. And please take photos to share with us!  Photo details are also below.


Thank you so much for helping bring some added holiday joy to these seniors!
 

Kendra Gahagan ‘93


2023 HOLIDAY CARDS FOR SENIORS DETAILS: 
 

  • Deadlines: Please *postmark cards by Dec. 11 if possible & no later than Friday Dec 15* -- any cards received by Dec 11 will be distributed in early rounds by Hearth & those received during that week will be distributed in later waves and by New Year’s.
  • Photos:  If you’re able, we’d love to see photos of your cards and/or smiling faces of you & family members with the cards for PANE and Hearth’s social media!  Please email photos in the same RSVP email with the word “photo” added as “PANE Holiday Cards for Seniors: photos.” 

    **Please note if you don’t want photos with people’s faces in them used on social media then please share photos of cards only without people in them.     

  • Number of cards:  2-3 if possible or more if you can! 

  • Type of cards:  Please send non-denominational/non-religious holiday cards so they can work for all residents.  Cards about the winter season or the coming year are great as well any non-religious holiday cards (though if all you can find are cards mentioning the December holidays, a card is better than no card!).

  • Salutation inside card:  “Dear Friend” or “Dear Neighbor” are great terms to use and please sign the cards however you’d like.

  • Languages:  The majority of cards need to be in English, but if anyone’s able to send a few in Spanish or Haitian Creole, those would also be appreciated. 

  • PANE in Return address:  Please add “(PANE)” in your return address after your name so Hearth can help us track the number of cards.

  • Mailing address for cards: (individual cards can be mailed or multiple cards can be placed in a larger envelope, in which case leave the card envelopes themselves blank):

Hearth, Inc.
ATTN: IA Department  

1640 Washington Street

Boston, MA 02118

** NOTE:  Under ATTN: that’s the letter “I”, not the number “1”

 

Hearth Inc resources on the web:  Facebook.com/HearthInc   Hearth_Inc  @ElderlyHomeless