Handwritten letters help Henrico students, seniors bridge generation gap

All it took to bridge a generational gap of more than 50 years was a letter – well, a series of them – written in cursive.

After nearly a year of exchanging handwritten letters through a pen pal project, Amanda Cover’s third-grade class at Jackson Davis Elementary School finally met their ‘pals’ – residents of the Cedarfield senior living community – for the first time May 22.

Happy cheers echoed in the school's hallway as Cover’s 19 students met their pen pals, presenting them with personal crafts and flowers as they escorted the seniors into the school cafeteria.

After reading their final letters to each other, the students played and demonstrated various childhood games to their pen pals (from Jenga towers and Giant Uno to card games and ‘London Bridge.’) The room buzzed with laughter and cheer from both children and seniors.

“It was a way of connecting our kiddos to our community,” said Chris Bonner, the principal of Jackson Davis Elementary School.

The school partnered with the Cedarfield community in October to launch the pen pal project, designed to build intergenerational friendships and strengthen community ties.

Meredith Eckel, volunteer coordinator at Cedarfield, said the initiative benefits both the children and the seniors.

“Many of the seniors used to be teachers; this was another way to build relationships and connections outside of Cedarfield, in an activity that is accessible and can be done easily,” Eckel said.

For Cover, it began as a simple way to teach her students cursive writing. The students would send letters once a month to the 11 seniors at Cedarfield. But as the months went on, it became more than handwriting practice, but also a celebration of the joy of personal connections across generations.

“The best part was when we’d get their letters back, and the kids would get excited and cheer,” Cover said. “They would spit out ideas on what activities to do with the seniors when they came.”

It was the first time her class had done a project like this, particularly with the Cedarfield community. Cover hopes to continue the project in the future.

“It’s fun to have cross-generational conversations,” she said. “The kids would write about the different games they’d play, and would learn about the games [the seniors] played too.”

This wasn’t the first time the Cedarfield community reached out to connect and support the Henrico community. It started four years ago with the Cedarfield Mentors, an initiative created by Martha Cole Glenn and Charlotte Bailey to support local elementary school teachers in getting supplies.

However, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it transformed into sending videos of other seniors reading children's books to Title I schools in Henrico. From sending bears to community visits, the program grew into more initiatives to connect the Cedarfield community to the rest of Henrico.

“We really feel like this helps the residents communicate with kids outside of their families,” Martha Cole Glenn said.

Betty Mann was among the five seniors to show up in person at Jackson Davis Elementary School. As the students shared games and activities, Mann would chime in with her experiences, to the delight of those around her.

“It was fun, this was the most fun part, with the sweetest children,” Mann said.

As the day came to a close, the children shared their goodbyes while holding the fond memories of newfound friendships in their hearts. Though decades apart in age, the students and seniors felt closer than ever, learning that connection knows no generational bounds.