Girl Scouts Create Pen Pal Program for the Elderly

Girl Scouts Angelina Boynton and Emma Pyles from Amherst Troop 22977 hosted a tea party on May 21st at Genesis The Elms Center in Milford and another tea party on June 1st at Carlyle Place in Bedford. 

For the past few months, Angelina and Emma have been working on their Girl Scouts’ Bronze Award project.  They co-founded a pen pal program called Smiles in a Mailbox.  The program matches middle school kids with elderly residents of local nursing facilities. 

Their goal is to help promote friendships between the residents and kids.  The tea parties were held to explain the program to the participants, introduce the pen pals, and present the residents with their first letters. 

“The tea parties were a great success,” said Angelina, co-founder of the Smiles in a Mailbox program.  “All the pen pals really had a great time!”  Emma added that “It was fun to see the pen pals get to meet each other and learn more about one another.”

Jenn Montplaisir of Carlyle Place added, “The residents were so happy to have the girls come in.  It helps keep them connected to the community.  It is also so nice to see them relate across the age gap.  I know how much work the Scouts put into this project and meeting their pen pals in person really put a special stamp on the project.”

For more information about the pen pal program, please contact Emma Pyles at nhpyles@yahoo.com or Angelina Boynton at boyntona@comcast.net.