Elderly people who were confined to their homes during lockdown were moved to tears after children wrote heartwarming letters to keep their spirits up.
Wirral schoolchildren, aged four to 10, reached out to residents at The Court in Bebington, Wirral, to strike up friendships with those who were isolated this year.
The Eastway Primary School children wanted to write to those living in the sheltered housing scheme in order to form pen-pals.
Included in those letters was one from a five-year-old boy who reached out to 65-year-old Geoff Moule.
Former hovercraft pilot Geoff said: "I was totally overwhelmed and charmed by the beautiful letter I received from young Alfie."
Alfie's sweet letter told Geoff he liked to play out and asked if he enjoyed doing the same thing.
Geoff's heartfelt reply told Alfie "the world will soon be yours" and said "it'll be better soon when we all can play out".
The school first wrote to the Alpha Living run home in order to learn about social isolation and the importance of kindness and gratitude.
Mason, aged nine, said: “I hoped that a card would cheer someone up and make them smile”.
The children’s letters introduced themselves and detailed what they had been doing during lockdown.
They also asked the residents what they had been doing during this difficult time, what games they played, whether they like to sing and what was their favourite film.
Geoff added: "I had been feeling that my normal life had been taken away during lockdown and although Alpha had been supporting me with delivering meals I was feeling low."
Geoff not only wrote back to Alfie but also sent him a copy of a children’s book that he had written with his friend Phil Acreman back in 2015.
The book ‘Captain Jon and Harvey the Hovercraft Pilot’ was inspired by Geoff’s time as a hovercraft pilot when he ran leisure trips from Llandudno Bay and on the River Thames.
Alfie and the school were so pleased to receive the book that Alpha has now recorded Geoff reading the book which will be shared with all the children of the school over the summer on the school’s YouTube channel.
Headteacher Mrs Morris said: "We have never been more proud of the children, who displayed such genuine empathy and heartfelt kindness when writing their cards to residents."
Jane Robert’s Alpha’s Development Manager at The Court said: “These letters really lifted the residents’ spirits at a difficult time and made them smile.
"It was a very generous thing for the children to do, and we are looking forward to undertaking more projects with them and the school”.
In total more than 30 residents received cards and letters.
