Our Teams

Penpal Program

Video Communication Program

The Pen Pal Program is a weekly activity where high school students and seniors in nursing homes write letters to each other about relatable past events, hobbies and interests, jokes, fun facts, and recent news (excluding COVID-19.) A volunteer will match with the same individual(s) for the duration of their involvement in the program. In the case of residents who cannot send a letter in response, students may partake in a one-way system. These students will continue to send letters to the nursing homes but will receive none in return.

The Live Video Communication Program is a weekly activity where high school students and seniors in nursing homes call using online apps such as Zoom and FaceTime to encourage connections and foster new relationships for residents in need of social interaction. We will discuss and arrange times and dates to best fit the needs of the student and resident. A volunteer will match with the same individual(s) for the duration of their involvement in the program.

Outreach Team

The Outreach Team is tasked with the business-end of our organization. There are two groups that are in the Outreach Team: Media Platform team and Partnership Group. The Outreach Team is for those who are interested in business or would like to help our organization grow and see our service provided to more residents in nursing homes.

Partnership Group

The Partnership Group reaches out to nursing homes and other schools to partner with. This team's purpose is to expand the organization and incorporate new facilities into partnerships by professionally emailing and calling.

Media Platform

The Media Platform Team controls our website and social media platforms. Through here, volunteers are able to leverage their social media prowess to help our organization be more interactive and transparent.

Data Management

Penpal Operations

The Data Management team is in charge of calculating hours for the volunteers at A Loving Link. Occasionally, there will be other tasks the attendance members have to do which include updating information of the volunteers. As part of this team, members will also be in charge of calculating their own hours. For this team, members will have to spend about an hour each week updating volunteer hours.

The Pen Pal Operations Team are in charge of matching volunteers to new homes, replacing those who have left the program, and updating spreadsheets with new information or partnered institutions. The team is also in charge of deadlines for letters and reminding members of the program to send in their letters on time. This job is very important to keeping the rest of the organization running smoothly.

Reading Team

The Reading Team approves of letters sent back and forth between the students and the nursing home residents. Every week, students email a photo of their letter to the reading team for approval. Readers either approve or reject the letter based on its content before the student can mail in their letter. Volunteers keep the program afloat by maintaining the letter quality, assisting in keeping track of sent letters with the Data Management team, and preventing issues from occurring in the future.