You wake up to your alarm clock yelling at you to get up, you check your phone and realize what day it is: your seniors birthday. You spend the rest of your day hopeful that the card you spent forever working on has some positive impact on their life. A day later, a message arrives in the mail thanking you for making someone’s relatives day a bit better.
During the Coronavirus disease outbreak of 2019 (COVID-19), Westford resident Sandra Fava was searching for a way to make a difference in someone’s life. Her ideas soon spiraled into a Birthday Buddy Program that consists of volunteers writing and sending birthday cards to nursing home residents on their birthdays. The nursing homes that currently participate in this program are located in Lowell, Nashua, Lawrence, Haverhill, and Chelmsford.
“During the pandemic I was searching for a way to make a difference in someone’s life while in isolation. I called a nursing home and asked if they would like cards sent to the residents on their birthday,” Fava said. “They loved the idea. I then organized about 20 friends and family members to send cards.”
The Birthday Buddy program is run and supported by over 300 volunteers currently. The volunteers help write and send cards each month to the various nursing homes participating in the program. Each volunteer has precedence over what they put into their card. This program was born from Fava making 100 flyers about the Birthday Buddy program and distributing them in her neighborhood, bringing dozens of new volunteers to the program. Currently Fava also posts on various towns’ facebook pages, looking for volunteers.
“The residents love receiving cards. I once got sent a picture of a resident smiling from ear to ear surrounded by birthday cards my volunteers had sent him,” Fava said. “He had turned 100, and I have teachers, a girl scout troop leader, and a hockey team that make cards for anyone turning 100+ each month.”
This program is still going strong even after five years, and is supported by committed volunteers spanning across various different towns. Fava hopes to carry this program out year after year.
“My contacts at the nursing home tell me that the residents love receiving birthday cards because many of them have no friends or family and they don’t receive any cards,” Fava said. “I am told that some residents actually cry when they receive their cards. My goal is to have each resident receive four birthday cards.”
For the past five years Fava has sent out nine cards a month. Through this program many volunteers have found a new craft to enjoy, including Fava.
“This program brings me a lot of joy and it [has given] 300 other people an opportunity to do a kind deed, and it is bringing joy to about 75 residents every month,” Fava said.
However, this program has not been without its challenges. Fava uses a software program that a friend wrote for her to match up resident names to volunteer names. The software program Fava uses sometimes glitches and causes difficulties when trying to match names.
Furthermore, Sarah Duffy, a volunteer with the Birthday Buddy Program from the very beginning, sometimes struggles with making sure each card is genuine and personal for each senior.
“This is where I spend a lot of time, I want the card to make the person feel special,” Duffy said.
Nevertheless, Duffy remarks on how positive this project has been in her life.
“It doesn’t take a lot of time and you know you’re making a senior very happy,” Duffy said. “You will get more happiness yourself by doing this small act of kindness.”
In addition, this program isn’t just beneficial for the receivers but also for the volunteers, and ever since the first card Fava sent she has never regretted her decision of starting this program. This project has proven to be a light in many residents lives as well.
“I received a note from one of the family members of a resident I had sent a card to. They thanked me for helping to make their mom’s birthday special,” Fava said.
