Elderly people receiving care or living in care homes in Dorset could get a welcome boost thanks to a new campaign to fight loneliness in these vulnerable people during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fiona Elliott, founder of Dorsetmums, is starting a county-wide campaign to send postcards to elderly people in care to give them a morale boost.

Though she is based in Poole, Dorsetmums has more than 17,000 followers and has members across the county. Fiona set up the ‘Dorsetmums Friendship Postcards for Older People’ group on Facebook after running a similar campaign an Christmas.

She said: “This group has been set up for older people in Dorset living in residential care or being visited by a care provider. With the recent coronavirus situation there will be many who are not allowed visitors to protect themselves and this will be a very lonely and worrying time for them.

“There are a few similar UK wide initiatives set up already however the Dorsetmums Gift of Love Appeal was so successful at Christmas that I would love for the kindness to carry on, especially to those companies we have already worked with.

“Sending a simple postcard will bring someone so much joy. You don’t have to go into too much detail, just a few words about your day out with the family or you could even get the children to make a homemade postcard as these can easily be bought blank and ready for a pretty picture to be drawn.

“I have had quite a lot of people get in touch from care homes or people who are care providers who want to get involved, like Bluebird care in Poundbury.

“It’s mostly care homes because they are not allowed to have visitors and they are scared and sad and it’s awful for them.

“The cards will be sent to the office and then they will be given to the residents that are feeling especially down and could do with a pick-me-up. It just lets them know that someone is thinking about them.

“It is the people that are on their own that we are doing this for, the people who don’t have any family to visit them and can’t afford to go out or are too scared to go to the shops.“I think everyone is worried about this now, but when things start to settle next week we will see even more people trying to help each other out and start thinking about other people.”

  • To get involved, send an email to dorsetmums@gmail.com or join the Facebook group to see the list of care homes and providers that postcards can be sent to.