Last week we had the incredible experience of speaking at Google.  We were a part of their lunchtime speaker’s series.  What an amazing company.  Unbelievable. 

After 45 minutes of speaking, and a bit of Q&A, we asked the group in the room what they thought our next EMM Campaign should be.  One of the Googlers quickly jumped in to share how much she appreciated our Thank-A-Firefighter letter campaign.  She felt that we could do a similar campaign, but have it focus on a different group of people.  Not bad for someone who hadn’t read the book yet, since the book also includes groups like the disabled, the elderly, law enforcement officers, teachers, etc.

So we asked her what group she had in mind.

She then went on to share with us an amazing story about a friendship she forged with an elderly woman.  It kind of reminded us of the amazing book ”Tuesdays With Morrie.”  They weren’t family, they weren’t neighbors.  Rather our Googler felt that she needed to get more involved in the community and started visiting an elderly home because she wanted to “serve” them.  Well, this is where the irony kicks in.

Our Googler visited the elderly woman until the day she died.  You could see the emotion in her eyes as she talked about it.  And then she said, “She gave me more than I could have ever given her.”  That’s the irony.  That’s the beauty.  But that’s just how it works when people reach out to make a difference.  The lines between the giver and the receiver become very blurry.  Everyone wins.  That’s EMM.

So, we are officially launching the “Appreciate An Elderly Person” campaign.  Here are a few simple ways you can get involved:

1.  Post a letter to an elderly person on our site.  They can be a family member, friend, neighbor, or even a total stranger that you’ve never met.

2.  Post a story about something you have learned from an elderly person.  Their life stories need to be heard by the world.

3.  Volunteer to be one of the delivery people.  Email us at movement [@] everymondaymatters [.com].  Once we gather a good amount of letters, we will have you and your friends or family handwrite them out and deliver them to an elderly facility near you.

Thank you to our Googler for sharing.  And thanks in advance for getting involved.  You Matter.