The Cheerful Little Letter Project
1369. Lucy Murray
Lucy Murray, from Milton Keynes, created the ‘Cheerful Little Letter’ project to tackle social isolation safely by matching children with the elderly as pen pals.
What began as a project with her own children has become a group of over 2,000 people exchanging letters, inspiring similar initiatives elsewhere in the country and building lasting bonds between young and old across our society.
In a personal letter to Lucy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“I was so heartened to hear of your wonderful initiative supporting children to become pen pals with the elderly and vulnerable.
“The thousands of letters you have inspired will have brought precious moments of comfort and happiness to many who are being shielded at this time, while forging lasting bonds between young and old across our society.”
Lucy said:
“It is a huge honour to receive this award and I would love to dedicate it to the wonderful children and their families who have made this happen and put so much love and care into their letters. I would also like to say a huge thank you to the amazing care workers who have made the project possible by supporting their residents to receive their post and taking time from their busy schedules to help them reply. This project has been such a positive and uplifting experience for so many people on both sides of the story and I really hope it continues long after the care homes reopen their doors to visitors.”
