Our Story

We started because of a loving grandpa.

 
 

Hey, I’m Jacob. I’m a recent graduate from Yale University and proud founder of Love For Our Elders.

I founded Love For Our Elders in 2013 because of my grandpa.

A grandparent’s love will never grow old. Growing up, my Saturday afternoons were colored by strolls in the neighborhood park with grandma and grandpa. Afterwards, they’d treat me to crackers and milk, and a cookie if I was lucky. We’d even vacation together, have sleepovers, and play Scrabble.

I was devastated when my grandpa died. To honor him, I began to volunteer at my local senior living community as the “bingo boy,” theatrically calling letter-number combinations to enthusiastic players. You’d be amazed how competitive our games could become.

I started visiting the residents one-on-one, and some of them became my best friends. During my awkward teenage years when I often felt alone, I found people who cared about me. 

But I quickly found out the world didn’t always care about them. In fact, many would tell me that I was their only visitor. They hadn’t heard from family in months.

That didn’t seem fair. At 13, it was common sense: the residents made me feel so loved; so surely, they deserved to feel the same. I went home and began scribbling handwritten letters of love to give to my older friends. It made them smile. I traded my title for “letter boy.”

Since then, I’ve been on a mission to alleviate a growing loneliness epidemic.

The stats behind social isolation: In 2020, 7.7 million community-dwelling adults age 65 and older in the United States were socially isolated, and 1.3 million were severely socially isolated [1]. More strikingly, 43% of Americans age 60 and older report feeling lonely, which is shown to increase risk of dementia, heart disease, stroke, and premature fatality from all causes [2].

That mission now includes an amazing team and more than 50,000 volunteers across 70 countries working together to fight loneliness with love. Since 2013, we’ve mailed hundreds of thousands of thousands of letters to senior communities, created a storybook of inspiring seniors, and facilitated in-person volunteering events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we compiled video messages of hope, love, and encouragement, ran education and awareness social media campaigns that reached tens of millions of people, and engaged individuals, classrooms and companies in remote service.

I’d love to have you join our work. From writing a letter to an elder to reading our book to chipping in to help us keep our work going, there's so much you can do to make a difference and show your "love for our elders.”

[1] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2020)

[2] Perissinotto et al. (2012)


Jacob Cramer
Founder, Executive Director