Senior Amy Xia created the Sunshine to Seniors club in 2024 to spread joy and kindness to elderly people who often feel forgotten and alone. The club visits senior citizens and makes handwritten cards to send out to nursing homes.

“It’s horrible because loneliness is affecting the last years of [seniors’] life, and it’s something that could be fixed if we were to spend a little bit of time or effort making cards,” Xia said.

When Xia worked as a certified nursing assistant for seniors, she saw firsthand just how lonely senior citizens would get in retirement homes.

“I had a job to do, unfortunately, so I couldn’t stay and talk to them, but they would get so excited over just an Amazon package,” Xia said. 

Loneliness can lead to them developing severe issues during the last few years of their life. According to the National Institute for Health loneliness in seniors leads to a decline in cognitive problems like depression, anxiety and physical problems like heart conditions and high blood pressure.  

 Club sponsor and English teacher Matt Gustafson has seen common stereotypes about teenagers such as being rebellious or lazy. But Gustafson believes that students can show people that they are so much more than that stereotype.

“I hope it allows students to connect with people in our community outside of the school for two reasons,” Gustafson said. “One, to allow our students to show the community who they are beyond the stereotypes…and I hope it allows students to learn.” 

Other club members also agree with this sentiment, sharing how the club’s activities provide empathy and creativity. A club member who wished to remain anonymous said they joined Sunshine to Seniors because they’re “kind of just a fan of elderly people” in a genuine way, saying that seniors are “really sweet.” 

Senior citizens often end up in nursing homes against their wishes. “I feel bad that some of them are in nursing homes, because most elderly people don’t really want to be in nursing homes,” They said, adding that simple acts like writing cards and zoom calls to the seniors feel “really sweet” and “cool.”

For, another student that would also like to remain anonymous says that their favorite part about the club is “probably writing the cards,” which they described as “really fun and creative, like hanging out with everyone and seeing everyone’s different card designs.” Students even sharpen their drawing skills to include “cute little drawings” for the seniors, and they also appreciate the fact that they can become pen pals with the seniors, “an opportunity to get to know an elderly person. It’s just fun.”

As a high schooler, Xia believes teenagers should have kindness throughout our community, despite societal views. 

“As the younger generation, we need to care about the seniors in our community,” Xia said.

She added that many of the issues between age groups stem from a lack of understanding.

“There’s a large generational gap and misunderstandings that could be easily fixed with communication and just some compassion on both sides,” she said.

That’s where the club comes in.

“Sunshine to Seniors is meant to bridge people and connect them,” Xia said.

The mission is especially important given that loneliness is a growing issue for senior citizens. According to the National Library of Medicine, 40 percent of seniors in nursing homes report feeling lonely. 

“I know that they were pretty lonely, and I just wish there was somebody there for them,” Xia said.

All across Colorado, there are senior homes that don’t get a lot of attention, so Sunshine to Seniors is finding out where to help. 

“We are still reaching out to a bunch of nursing homes,” Xia said. “The one we are most connected with is actually in rural Washington County, Colorado.”

The club is planning on hosting a virtual meet-and-greet for the Washington County nursing home, as well as collaborating with Eco Action, a non- profit organization working to improve the community’s health, environment, and overall well-being. As part of this plan, the club aims to assist Eco Action in creating gardens at senior homes.

“Washington County nursing home is really far away, so we can’t visit them, but they would really love to just talk to us and know who they’re getting cards from,” Xia said. “Eco action has the gardening part down, and we have the assisted living part down, so hopefully we could collaborate on that.”