<html><head></head><body><div class="yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><div><div data-test-id="message-view-body" class="ydp9007085eI_52qC ydp9007085eD_FY ydp9007085eW_6D6F" style="width: 1316px;"><div class="ydp9007085emsg-body ydp9007085eP_wpofO ydp9007085emq_AS" data-test-id="message-view-body-content"><div class="ydp9007085ejb_0 ydp9007085eX_6MGW ydp9007085eN_6Fd5"><div><div class="ydp9007085eqtd-body"><div id="ydp9007085eymsg93673" class="ydp9007085eymsg4278317747"><div id="ydp9007085eyiv1191095020"><div class="ydp9007085eyiv1191095020yahoo-style-wrap"><div dir="ltr">Hello,</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">I just finished a wonderful book, "All the Lonely People" by Mike Gayle.</div><div dir="ltr">Hubert Bird, an elderly Jamaican immigrant, is expecting a visit from his daughter, Rose.</div><div dir="ltr">In his weekly conversations, Hubert regaled Rose with stories about all of his adventures</div><div dir="ltr">with his friends. Rose can't wait to meet them. She is taking a vacation from her job as a professor</div><div dir="ltr">in Australia and is looking forward to seeing Hubert and his friends. The trouble is, there are no friends- </div><div dir="ltr">Hubert made them up. He's lonely and has to find and make some friends</div><div dir="ltr">before Rose comes home.</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Enter his neighbor, Ashleigh and her young daughter. They slowly develop a trusting</div><div dir="ltr">relationship and set about to find friends. </div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Now, that you know a part of the story- here is the part I found inspirational.</div><div dir="ltr">Ashleigh sets about to help the lonely in her small village/neighborhood with </div><div dir="ltr">the help of Hubert. The group struggles at first, but soon the idea of </div><div dir="ltr">helping the lonely catches on. </div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">I would like to do something like the Loneliness Project in the book that reaches out to the</div><div dir="ltr">lonely and isolated in our area. I was thinking of a pen pal project - just to get started.</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">My question is do any of you do something like this in your library?</div><div dir="ltr">If so, how did you do it and how did you get it off the ground?</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">We were brainstorming today and we thought we could bring in </div><div dir="ltr">young people to write to seniors who are in nursing homes or</div><div dir="ltr">in apartments - mostly living alone and perhaps a bit lonely-</div><div dir="ltr">more so because of COVID.</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">I'm looking for ideas- what worked, what didn't.</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Thanks</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Mary Kay Ball</div><div dir="ltr">Reference Librarian</div><div dir="ltr">Barberton Public Library</div><div dir="ltr">602 West Park Ave</div><div dir="ltr">Barberton, Oh 44203</div><div dir="ltr">330-745-1194(Ext. 1444 for Voice Mail).</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="ydp9007085ejb_0 ydp9007085eX_6MGW ydp9007085eN_6Fd5"></div></div><div class="ydp9007085eH_7jIs ydp9007085eD_F ydp9007085eab_C ydp9007085eQ_69H5 ydp9007085eE_36RhU" data-test-id="toolbar-hover-area"><div class="ydp9007085eD_F ydp9007085eW_6D6F ydp9007085er_BN ydp9007085egl_C" data-test-id="card-toolbar" style="width: 1344px;"></div></div></div><br></div></div></body></html>