Maya Angelou once said, “We need joy as we need air. We need love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share.”

Community and compassion are as necessary to a human being as food and water. I personally believe in the importance of social interaction at all stages of life, especially as one gets older and can easily feel more isolated. There is an entire aging generation of people living in assisted community homes who are unable to interact with the younger generations. This is due to distance from family and friends, a divide in technology, and lack of transportation. The HMHS letter writing club is a club based on writing letters to people in assisted community homes and facilities. This club attempts to try to fight loneliness among those who do not have constant access to family and friends.

I recently had the opportunity to interview the director of volunteer services, David Erdelyi, at United Methodist Communities at Collingswood.  The HMHS letter writing club makes and collects letters to give to this community home. He truly believes in the importance of social interactions of all ages, and how much they can impact one’s mental health. Mr. Erdelyi explained how, “A lot of residents have lived past their relatives, have lived past their friends, and so, they can get lonely. Even just one day without a friend, it can be lonely.”

Being a part of a school community like Haddonfield Memorial High school is a very special experience for the students and faculty. We don’t realize when we’re young how lucky we are to have such easy access to making new friends and having new adventures. But as people get older, it doesn’t mean they don’t crave the same social interactions and mental stimulation they used to have on a day to day basis. Even though some people reach their retirement years and can’t always go out for daily walks with friends or go visit far away relatives, it doesn’t mean they don’t want to. And even though these people do not have the access or ability to this lifestyle, it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it.

This is why the HMHS letter writing club is such an important mission, and a mission so close to my heart. The letters we are writing to elderly community homes not only provide a thoughtful gesture to a group of people, but it connects multiple generations with each other. It reminds people who may be feeling in the dark, that they are still in touch with what is going on around them. Mr. Erdelyi also explained, “I wanted to make a quick note on the seasonal stuff. That’s really huge too… because everybody’s still alive. It’s spring or it’s Christmas or whatever season it is, like, everybody’s still celebrating that.” I think something so important to remember is that everybody we are writing to is still alive, and still has so much to offer to the world. It is so special to be able to connect with people, even if not in person, and knowing that you might make their day just a little bit brighter. It only takes a few minutes of our time to extend a hand to another generation, and while that moment may be brief the impact will be great.