A kid with a piece of paper can change someone's entire day.

Sending Grace connects elementary school kids with seniors through handwritten letters. Write one, and we'll make sure it reaches someone who needs it.

Get free templates Bring it to your school
A student hugging Grace after finishing her Sending Grace letter
From kids at local schools like Lunada Bay Elementary
Grace with a resident at a local care facility, both holding Sending Grace letters
To a senior at a local care facility. Read their stories

"Sending Grace builds connections across generations. Students learn empathy and kindness while seniors receive thoughtful messages that help reduce loneliness and remind them they are valued and remembered."

Mayor Michael Kemps, City of Palos Verdes Estates

How one letter makes someone's day

A young student holding up his finished Sending Grace letter with a drawing of the ocean

1. A kid writes a letter

Kids fill in a free template and draw a picture. It takes about 15 minutes and some crayons. This little artist loves blue, so he drew the ocean.

Grace sharing a letter with a resident at a table

2. It reaches a senior

I hand-deliver letters to local senior care facilities, and families can give theirs to a senior they know.

Dennis smiling and holding up his Sending Grace letter

3. Their day changes

Dennis couldn't believe the letter was for him, or that he got to keep it. He couldn't stop smiling. Read their stories

Grace as a young girl laughing with her grandma, DukeMom

It started with letters to my grandma

During COVID, my grandma, who we call DukeMom after her beloved dog Duke, couldn't leave the house or see the people she loved. So I wrote her letters. When I finally saw her again, she told me those letters got her through the pandemic.

That made me think about the seniors who live with that kind of isolation every day, not just during a pandemic. That's why I started Sending Grace.

Grace O'Rourke's signatureGrace O'Rourke, founder

Read our story

Two ways to get started

Grace presenting to a classroom of students

Bring it to your school

In Southern California, I'll visit your classroom, lead the session, and deliver the letters myself. Anywhere else, I can visit by Zoom or mail you a free intro kit.

Request a visit or kit
A student writing a Sending Grace letter at a classroom table

Write one at home

Print a free template, and your child can write a letter in about 15 minutes. Give it to a senior you know, or send it to us and we'll deliver it.

Get free templates

In the news

Palos Verdes Magazine, October/November 2026, page 33

Sending Grace: One Letter at a Time

My feature on how Sending Grace began and an afternoon with seniors at a local care facility, written as a PV Junior Contributor.

Read the article

University of Georgia Summer Media Academy

Still Here: Seniors Face a Silent Epidemic of Isolation in Care Facilities

My reporting on the loneliness crisis in care facilities, told through residents, caregivers, and volunteers.

Read the story

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