A woman's simple act of kindness to help battle loneliness has transformed her small village community.
Sam Pritchard, 39, created the "Cards Against Loneliness" initiative where kids write adorable letters to elderly residents of Halton, in Lancashire to combat social isolation.
Brits over the age of 75 are especially vulnerable to loneliness and social isolation which has a devastating impact on mental health.
Over two million older people in England live alone - with more on health than one million spending months without speaking to family, friends or a neighbour, according to the NHS website on the condition.
Determined to transform the quality of life for lonely residents in her small village, Sam hopes other communities will follow suit and engage in conversations they've neglected over the past years, Lancs Live reports.
Sam also runs the neighbourhood watch scheme and outlined a key objective for 2021 - to combat loneliness especially among Halton's older residents.
By doing monthly litter pick days and encouraging residents to join for a cup of tea afterwards and other events like Easter Trails, the situation has improved.
Sam told LancsLive she laid the groundwork for the current scheme seven years ago, after challenging herself to perform one random act of kindness each day.
While researching, she learnt about 'The World Needs More Love Letters" scheme, a charitable organisation in the US which provides added information about lonely recipients to encourage more personalised letters.
Sam decided to roll out the idea in Halton, asking the children of the village who "love drawing" to create cards and post them out to elderly residents to brighten their week and reduce loneliness.
She received a grant from the Parish Council and used it to install a post box at the Halton Community Centre, giving the kids a physical monument to make it "extra special" when sending their letter.
Every Friday at 12pm the "Cards Fighting Loneliness" letters are picked from the post box and distributed to residents.
Sam hopes over the coming months, the delivery point could be used for youngsters to ping their wish lists off to Father Christmas.
Sam recalled spending an hour chatting to an elderly resident on their doorstep after they told her they'd spent 18 months without any contact.
Another man, who recently lost his wife, broke down in tears when Sam delivered him a letter personally, LancsLive reports.
"It's about starting a conversation and engaging with each other," Sam said, "it's a really nice thing to do and can only be good."
Sam described her campaign as "escalating" and hopes it will reach other communities.
Those hoping to set up a similar scheme in their community can visit Fighting Loneliness - One Village At A Time where Sam wants to shared details on how her initiative started.
Kids are also recommended to visit the page so they can find out how to brighten a lonely person's day.
Sam said: "Even if one person receives a letter and one person's day is made, it will all be worth it."
