San Francisco YAD launched a project called "Caring Letter for the Elders: 為長者寫一封關懷信", where its goal is to connect kind-hearted youth members and elders of the San Francisco BLIA chapters and temple devotees, through a physical letter mailed to their homes. A total of 10 SFYAD members contributed, and 82 elders have received the letters written by SFYAD.
As we all experience shelter-in-place restrictions due to COVID-19, in-person temple activities have all been canceled. Physical interactions have reduced to a minimum. In such special times, a personal letter can offer comfort and hope to the recipients.
The letters were written based on the Dharma Words by Venerable Hsing Yun. This is especially chosen because Venerable Master Hsing Yun's quotes are known to be positive, uplifting, and popular among the elders. Everyone shared how the Venerable Master's quote was relevant to their current experiences.
With the help of all the BLIA Subchapter Presidents, the team collected all the addresses of the elders who signed up to receive the letters. In total, all 69 letters for 82 recipients were mailed out on July 20th.
After receiving the letters, several of the recipients were really happy as they shared their thoughts and pictures of themselves with the letter.
As the pandemic continues to worsen without signs of improvement, and staying at home for close to half a year, I feel anxious and depressed. so when I received a letter today from @Jin Wang of SFYAD to express her care and concern, I feel really touched. Thank you SFYAD, and thanks Jin for her letter of encouragement.
- 蔡昭碧 Chaopi
When I opened this slightly scented letter from a member of YAD, I felt emotional. Every word and sentence is as if Venerable Master is speaking to me. The warm patience, hope, and ease injected great strength in me, and I feel hopeful about the future; that the pandemic will past with time and the riots will stop when justice prevails. So thankful for YAD to use your own experience to give me an extremely great 👍 lesson. 🙏
-蔚
This is a letter from an international student, and the patience, hope, and ease demonstrated in the letter brought warmth directly into my heart. It reignited my flame of hope, and took away all my negative thoughts. for many days, I had to watch many international students enter TSA with looks of helplessness to return to their country, and these moments brought me much sorrows. This letter from a PhD student, from a youth that showed his hope towards the future changed me. I am hopeful with everyone's effort, all of you will eventually return and complete the education of your dreams.
SFYAD would like to thank all participants, recipients, and everyone who was involved in this project!