Buffalo Nursing Home Resident Gains 7-Year-Old Pen Pal
Some kids just have the biggest hearts, and that holds true to 11-year-old Leah Mihaly from the Rochester area.
During the peaks of the pandemic, nursing homes were closed for visitors, so Leah used the time to make a new friend at Buffalo s HighPointe on Michigan facility. She joined a pen pal program and was connected to Thelma Haskins, a long term resident in the facility.
According to WHAM, Leah says she wanted to reach out at a time when the pandemic has prevented residents like Haskins from seeing loved ones. Leah began writing to Thelma. Something about the two of them, despite their difference in age, clicked, and the two became great friends.
WNY Girl Scouts became pen pals with long-term care residents during pandemic
The pen pal program started in mid-October to help lift the spirits of residents who, due to state COVID-19 guidelines, could not have visitors. Author: Jackie Roberts Updated: 11:27 PM EST January 1, 2021
BUFFALO, N.Y. Leah Mihaly of Penfield and Claire Farnham of East Aurora are both in fifth grade, and they re both Girl Scouts. I like making people smile and making a difference, Mihaly said.
And that s exactly what the two did in 2020.
They took part in a Pen Pal program that connected girls in fifth grade with long-term care residents at Kaleida Health’s HighPointe on Michigan and DeGraff Skilled Nursing facilities.