One Letter at a Time – Jacob Cramer Fights Loneliness with Love
On This Episode of Spark to Empower
Spark to Empower welcomes Jacob Cramer, founder and executive director of Love for our Elders, a nonprofit organization fighting loneliness with love.
Jacob shares the mission of his nonprofit through speeches and social media to inspire young people to get involved in service. In this episode, we get an inside scoop on how he was inspired to create this incredibly successful non-profit (the non-profit has more than 60,000 volunteers across 72 countries fighting the social isolation of elders!), what has kept him motivated, tips for staying committed, and his future aspirations.
Be inspired by the vision of a (then) 13-year-old that has impacted elders across the globe, inspired activism and action, and began a movement of change to support our elders.
It starts with one idea, one letter, one connection, and one smile.
Listen Now
Jacob Cramer shares the mission of his non-profit through speeches and social media to inspire young people to get involved in service. Recently, he has been selected to participate in the Fulbright US student program where he will be teaching English to students while living in Spain.
About the Guest
Jacob Cramer
Founder of Love for Our Elders
Grandma’s Letter Exchange
Listen to Other Episodes
Connie Maday (00:06):
Welcome to Spark to Empower. I'm Connie Maday educator, mother, entrepreneur. This podcast is about igniting the power within ourselves to bring about positive change for the world. This is the place for inspiration and celebrating changemakers. I'm so grateful to be here today. Today. I'm welcoming Jacob Cramer, founder and executive director of Love For Our Elders. A non-profit fighting loneliness with love. The non-profit has more than 60,000 volunteers across 72 countries fighting social isolation of elders. Jacob is a recent graduate from Yale University has received the Teen Tikkun Olam Award has been featured on CNN, in National Geographic, Glamor, USA today. And on the Oprah magazine in 2021, he was named a "Hero inspiring America for doing extraordinary things for others" and received the E News Hero Inspiring America recognition. He was one of the three Americans also recognized as the Culture Catalyst on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2022
Connie Maday (01:19):
That sounds fun! He shares the mission of his non-profit through speeches and social media to inspire young people to get involved in service. Recently, he has been selected to participate in the Fulbright US student program where he will be teaching English to students while living in Spain. What an honor. That sounds so amazing. Congratulations, Jacob, this podcast is about inspiring changemakers and helping inspire activism. And we're gonna hear all about how he was inspired, um, in just a moment. So Jacob, thank you for being here. I'm thrilled to have a chance to connect with you and celebrate all that you have created to make the world a better place. Thank you.
Jacob Cramer (02:03):
Thank you so much, Connie. Your enthusiasm is contagious and you made me sound so cool. So I hope that I live up to that and I'm so excited to be here today.
Connie Maday (02:12):
Oh, you are cool! My gosh, I can't wait to dive into your story. So I want to know everything. How did it get started? You know, I want to hear about your grandpa when you were 13. Tell us your story. How did you go from "bingo boy" to "letter boy" and to founding this incredible non-profit? Go for it.
Jacob Cramer (02:30):
Absolutely. So yeah, when I was around 12 or 13, I was volunteering in senior communities. I started as the local "bingo boy". So I would go into stone gardens and I would just call out letter number, combination, super enthusiastically. And if you've ever seen Bingo at a nursing home, you know, that it is truly wild, like be careful tread lightly and I had so much fun. It was the best time, but I really wanted to get to know residents more one-on-one, because that is what I was really craving. And one hour wasn't doing it for me. So I would spend most of my weekends at, uh, the nursing home from then on, I would, um, whether it was transporting residents up from activities or just going into rooms and talking, playing board games, whatever, I would do that all the time.
Jacob Cramer (03:21):
And I really loved it. And my grandpa passed away, back in 2010 and it was like, I had a bunch of new grandparents and I absolutely loved it. But when I was volunteering there, a lot of the residents would tell me like, you know, actually there was this one in particular named Cynthia who really like, it really shook me to my core, but, she didn't have any, any anyone to visit her ever. It was like, she would talk about her, her niece who, lived in New Jersey and would occasionally call like every few months. And it was like, what kept her going? You know, this is like, what kept her like motivated? And she loved seeing pictures of the family, but it's her, it's her niece. And like only once every few months. And it was the same for a lot of the residents.
Jacob Cramer (04:06):
You know, some of them wouldn't get a visitor for a week, a month, and maybe not even something as simple as a letter. And I was like, oh my gosh, like that is not cool. I am 13. And I live with my family and I cannot imagine not seeing anyone I love for that long and I wanted to do something about it. So I started writing letters to my older friends and it made them smile. I actually started by not, um, not just mailing or not just delivering letters to that, um, senior community called Montefiore, but actually mailing across the country to lemon Grove, California. I was like, this is gonna be national international. Let's go. And it was not right away. It was a lot of work. But, um, after doing that and realizing that this had a really positive effect, um, I did in fact change my title from "bingo boy", a "letter boy"
Connie Maday (04:55):
<laugh> Yes!
Jacob Cramer (04:56):
I just realized that there's this growing loneliness epidemic. That hasn't just been a problem during COVID, but long before. And it's going to continue to be as, especially as like the amount of seniors, um, in different senior communities rises and, uh, also just different factors that contribute to loneliness, um, continue to as well. And I'm really proud to be a part of this, growing movement, uh, for the past almost nine years.
Connie Maday (05:25):
Wow. Oh my goodness. That's a, that's amazing. And I mean, you think about everything with COVID too. I think it's amplified even more and this need to help support, uh, people through depression, anxiety, all of the, the challenges. And, um, there's, you know, the, the population that you're speaking about is one that is often overlooked and that needs extra love and smiles even more. And I just, I think it's incredible. So, tell us, so you have, now, am I, is this right more than 60,000 volunteers, is that.
Jacob Cramer (06:01):
yes.
Connie Maday (06:01):
In 72 countries and you have, uh, volunteers helping and I wanna make sure we understand, how does this work, what's the process. And then how do these kindness ambassadors help support the mission?
Jacob Cramer (06:16):
So we really are social media born and bred. I, my passions are in, in the non-profit world. I love PR and marketing and especially social media marketing. So that's kind of the standpoint through which I lead and, you know, the, all the like administrative stuff, maybe not as much.
Connie Maday (06:36):
<laugh>.
Jacob Cramer (06:36):
Um, but, um, that's, that's like my strong season. So that's really how we've recruited this many volunteers, like started with like Twitter, just tweeting at people. I would also make like phone calls to schools, churches, temples, anyone who would listen. Uh, <laugh> obviously you don't get to six, six over 60,000, um, through just like phone calls to churches. But, uh, what's been really cool is yeah, just like the social media aspect. Like it's something that everyone can act on and not a lot, and not a lot of time, you know, write a letter, it can take 15 minutes.
Jacob Cramer (07:08):
So it's been a really great way to engage everyone from like little, little kids to even the seniors that we serve, we'll write letters. And then as for kindness ambassadors before and during COVID kindness ambassadors connected us with senior facilities, they distributed letters of love and care packages. They hosted card making workshops at cafes and libraries, everything. It's basically like the step up from our normal volunteers. Like if you want to be more involved, all you gotta do is join like our little Kindness Ambassador Facebook group, and you can do all of those things and just like take your leadership a step up. And they were truly the people behind Love For Elders making our day to day operations and just like everything cool happen. Um, especially like all the special events and stuff that we would do in, in-person volunteering. And we would always fund them if they wanted to do something cool in person, whatever it was.
Jacob Cramer (08:00):
And one example is a teacher named Hailey who was a volunteer, um, that had just found out about our work right before COVID and her grandma passed away and she wanted to share her story and document her grandma's legacy. And so she did, and it was absolutely beautiful. It was for an initiative we had called senior storybook where we documented the lives of some of the world's most inspiring seniors. And after it was published, she, um, and she'd worked with our copy editor, Emma, I think she just saw how special our community is. So she's a teacher and she led a service vendor classroom and just got more involved. She shared our work on her personal blog and eventually, and actually pretty quickly she became our right hand in engaging volunteers right now, though. We're kind of like refocusing the program on building a community of letter writers, um, rather than like the, the kindness ambassadors that we did have, um, to kind of provide inspiration for each other's letters, share their letters, do little like letter writing chains, where everyone writes to someone else and just reach out to senior communities together. Um, so I love letters and, uh, I try to write a letter every day, if not like every week. And so this, this new kind of version of kindness ambassadors is basically, I'm hoping like the ultimate letter writing group.
Connie Maday (09:17):
Oh, that sounds so, so incredible, Jacob. Oh my gosh. And you know, I, so many memories just flash as you were talking. And I had to think about my own mom and how absolutely excited she is when she runs. She's almost 80 when she gets something in the mail. I mean, I get a text about it. I get a phone call about it. I'm like, you're never gonna believe who sent me a letter. I was. So it is just this, this small act that absolutely makes this huge impact in somebody's day and somebody's weak in somebody's years. So it's, it's incredible. And, um, you spoke about ways that people can get involved. And I want you to dive into that a little bit too. So you talked about kindness ambassadors, you talked about volunteering. Can you give for somebody who's listening who wants to write a letter and contribute? Where do they go? How do they get started?
Jacob Cramer (10:07):
So to get started volunteering, whether if you wanna write a letter or if you want to, um, start a chapter, cuz we have a whole chapter program where you can do in-person volunteering, whether you're a high school student college student or just community member, you can have to love for elders.org and get started there.
Connie Maday (10:24):
Okay. Well we will make sure to cover that again at the end, but um, tell me Jacob, so you've accomplished so much already. And if you look back to where you were, when you were 13, when you had this idea, what is something that you wish you could tell yourself then, um, that you know now about being a change maker and the journey that you've been on?
Jacob Cramer (10:48):
Well, there were a lot of challenges. Um, I think I have a few actually <laugh>, um,
Connie Maday (10:56):
Go for it.
Jacob Cramer (10:57):
Um, no, when you're doing something for nine years, of course you're gonna run into obstacles. And for me, like when I was younger, outreach efforts were really hard. I think people didn't take me seriously. I also honestly didn't really know how to talk. Um, but I think that it kind of has shown me like, you know, once you like get your messaging, right? Like there's kindness in everyone. And like just recognize that. And don't be afraid to like ask for help, ask for people to get involved. Because there's so many good people out there. Like I I'm so lucky with my job because I get to know like all of the best people in the world who just want to help our elders of all people.
Jacob Cramer (11:30):
So, um, there are so many good people in the world. Um, another thing I would say is working alone is really hard. I did that for a few years after the non-profit was started and it was really overwhelming, especially during the transition to college and then even in COVID with, um, being a very small team, it was hard. And I think it's really important to, you know, build a team, but also, you know, like I said, we're social media, born and bred and we had this like this, this like following on social media. And I thought that like, oh, that means that we're not that, I'm not alone. There are all these people volunteering and engaged in this. But what I've realized is like you need to, as a leader and as, especially as a non-profit leader, you need to be creating leaders, not followers.
Jacob Cramer (12:18):
And so that number, that extra one on your Instagram account is not that doesn't, that does not mean that you are, um, no longer alone in this. You, you, you still might be. And so really getting people by your side is so important. Um, also with COVID I think like I ran into compassion, fatigue, and having people that I could talk to outside of the organization was really important. So that like my mental health could stay strong. You know, I think like, and during, during COVID, especially like, you know, in my inbox I'd be receiving emails of like, oh, like this elder can't receive letters this month anymore because they just passed away and I would get like four of those emails in the same month. And even like, even just thinking about it right now, it actually like really, um, just like affects me.
Jacob Cramer (13:07):
I, I just think back to that time and how challenging it was and also the, the pressure and like the, the responsibility that I think my whole team felt in like in, doing this work and serving seniors and fighting loneliness with love. And so having someone to talk to is really important, especially for digital leadership when we're all like, kind of across the country and maybe we have like one monthly zoom call, it should, it's really important as a leader to like stay inspiring and not bum everyone out when you have that one zoom call. And so like when I was experiencing this compassion, fatigue, I really discovered like that, you know, there were times when I was bumming everyone out and it like, Ugh, like this is so hard, whatever, whatever, it's really important to have someone to talk to. Uh, and then the last thing I'm so much advice, but I, I just I've been doing this for a while, but the biggest thing I would tell myself when I was 13 and it kind of goes along with all of this, like mental health stuff is just like sleep more, literally sleep more. I think, you know, you're
Connie Maday (14:05):
Yeah. So important. Yeah.
Jacob Cramer (14:08):
You're an educator, you know, like, you know, how, how students are, um, surely how teachers are, how like everyone needs to sleep more. But the, for me, like I think looking back at everything that we've gotten to do with love for elders, like it's so special, there are really special moments and you're gonna wanna remember them and be present. And that's hard if you're not well rested in taking care of yourself.
Connie Maday (14:31):
Totally. I mean, sleep is, is kind of those, it's the first fundamental piece to feeling good. If you're sleep deprived, <laugh> absolutely. You're not gonna be as clearheaded. I mean, as a mom and I laugh sometimes it's like, oh, you got four hours of sleep. That was plenty, but that's not like fully <laugh> rested. Yeah. Um, so
Jacob Cramer (14:50):
I know, know the scale is probably different for moms too. Like what is a good amount of sleep relatively, maybe four hours is okay, but
Connie Maday (14:57):
Right. I think also those routines that we set for ourselves to make sure that we are able to show up in our best way. And I'd love to dive into that for you. I mean, you are incredibly successful. You've done so much all the while you've also finished high school and graduated from a very challenging, hard, prestigious university. I mean, that's a lot. So how, how did you create routines for yourself, a mindset for yourself so that you could stay mentally alert and there, and be positive and be able to show up in this way to what's your secret, Jacob
Jacob Cramer (15:36):
<laugh> I don't know that I have a secret, I think first of all, in terms of like college, um, and being able to do this work at the same time, I am extremely lucky in some ways, because I benefited from zoom university. So, you know, Yale was not as hard because I <laugh>, I got to take my classes from my bed in my pajamas. Uh, <laugh> sometimes sleeping during them or doing this work when I should have been, um, you know, studying, listening to lecture. But, um, no, in reality, I loved school and it was kind of a bummer to do school online, but it did give me a lot of time to focus on the non-profit. But I think more generally, like, you know, hopefully like that kind of like quarantine isolation thing, like doesn't have to exist for students at all anymore, if not like much longer.
Jacob Cramer (16:28):
Um, but I think my like mental strategy is I always, so I always used to do like, whatever was like, you know, the most urgent task. And so especially like, I think back in high school while leading the non-profit, it was like, okay, like I'm gonna write this like dumb, like AP flah, whatever US history paper that I like don't care about and make it 10 pages. So that the, so that I get extra credit. Because you get extra credit if it's over 10 pages.
Connie Maday (16:56):
right, right.
Jacob Cramer (16:57):
Um, like, and then like, oh, I'm gonna do my laundry and uh, do this other quiz that, or like study for this test and then I'd miss out on the things, you know, like, oh, like go visit my grandma on the weekend, which like now she lives in San Diego and it's like, ah, like I just wish I would've visited that one.
Jacob Cramer (17:17):
I mean, not really like, I, I talk to her all the time, but like I do, like, you know, there's like there are special moments that you miss out on and also just like really important moments. So separating what's urgent and important for me has been really helpful. I think like, I just, you, you always used to do what's or what was urgent. And now I always think like, okay, first, like what is, what is important and urgent, but second, what is, what is important? Like take a step back, get some perspective and really focus on like, what do you need to do? Um, and like, like, and need to do as in like a personal either fulfillment or like just desire. Like when you, when you really think about like your life or your day or week or whatever, like what do you what's important to you? Um, so that's, what's really helped me, I think.
Connie Maday (17:58):
Yeah. That's,
Jacob Cramer (17:59):
I'm curious for you too. What is like, what is your strategy, then you have so many hats that you juggle.
Connie Maday (18:04):
I think that is so wise, I mean really slowing down and being present to be able to be there and even recognize what's important as opposed to just going through the motions. It's so easy in life to just put your head down, you're grinding it out, you're getting it done. Like you're, you know, power housing through all of these tasks, but then you forget to look around and see like, oh my goodness, this is a beautiful life that we're living and you're missing all these little moments. And so I think for me, it's looking up and looking out and actually enjoying the moment taking, like taking a deep breath throughout the day to kind of reground myself has been so important. I mean, I do, I just and slowing down. I mean, I'm known for being a powerhouse and you have an idea, I'll make it happen. And I love that about myself. And I also know that I need to make sure to really look up, look out, find that like find the joy, find those moments that are important and make that the priority. So yeah, I'm right there with you. <laugh> thanks for asking.
Jacob Cramer (19:15):
Yeah.
Connie Maday (19:15):
And thanks for sharing it. So, you know, mindset is so important how we set up our day, how we think about things, what we're telling ourselves, when we get to those challenges that come our way and how we kind of look at those obstacles, right. Is it an opportunity or is it something that's gonna stop you on your tracks? How are you gonna move through it? And so, you know, for someone that has clearly been through a lot of challenges and made it out on the, I mean it's not over right. Life is, is constantly throwing things at us, but it's how we approach it.
Jacob Cramer (19:51):
Right.
Connie Maday (19:52):
How we, how we make things happen. So, yeah. Um, so let's - I want to check in about, you know, this, you, you've given so much advice already and I wanna see what are your, if you have any advice, you know, you sound like you've really grown. I could learn from you. Jacob help me out with social media. You know, I need like all this tips. Um, but for somebody who's starting out, who's got an idea for making change. And, um, what would be like your top advice in terms of how to get the message out for someone like me? Give me some advice.
Jacob Cramer (20:31):
Yeah. Well, first well, oh my gosh. Um, I think first of all, I think you're already killing it between everything you do and you know, you said it yourself, you're a powerhouse. Like.
Connie Maday (20:40):
<laugh>.
Jacob Cramer (20:40):
you, there are people who can look up to you, myself included.
Connie Maday (20:43):
Um, you're so sweet. Jacob.
Jacob Cramer (20:45):
Bravo.
Connie Maday (20:46):
Thank you.
Jacob Cramer (20:46):
No, I truly, I truly mean it though. Like it, I'm also, um, as we talked about it earlier, like I'm an aspiring, uh, educator and I'm gonna be like a teacher next month. So I know that like, you have so many like skills and, and passions that are just like that, that are beyond me. So.
Connie Maday (21:00):
<laugh>,
Jacob Cramer (21:00):
but I can in terms of the social media, First of all, of course, first of all, make sure you're following Connie right now. Super, super important.
Connie Maday (21:09):
<laugh> <laugh>
Jacob Cramer (21:10):
Here's a shout out !
Connie Maday (21:12):
Wahoo!
Jacob Cramer (21:13):
I think for me the hardest part has been doing it all. Like mm-hmm, <affirmative>, you know, it's like as a, as a founder, it can get lonely at the top, as everyone says. Um, but also like whether you're a tech startup or running an Etsy shop or starting an epic kindness podcast, um, that's empowering people sparking change. I wonder who that could be, or you're a grassroots non-profit like us, you're probably doing too much. Um, and even when you really, really care about this thing, it's hard when, when some of, some of it, some of, some of these things that you have to do is not why you're in this business. And so for me, what's hard is legal filings and hiring and writing agreements with contractors or producing impact reports for foundations. Oh my gosh. Don't even get me started on that. That is literally like analyzing, like getting them these metrics and writing up little, little blurbs of, I, it sounds fine.
Connie Maday (22:11):
I hear ya.
Jacob Cramer (22:12):
do like it <laugh>. Um, but the reason that I'm still in this work after almost nine years, uh, is because I love helping people. And none of the things that I just described are really doing that. Like, let's be honest, but I, I do think that I still haven't totally figured it out yet. Uh, but I will say that there are always people who will help if you ask. And this is, this is really something that like, I am still learning it's I need to take my own advice right now. But for example, um, recently I asked an attorney on our board of directors to help me edit a contract for an art project. And she did. Um, and it was really funny because like, I, I tried writing this contract myself and <laugh>, I, I like looked up three, three artists.
Jacob Cramer (22:54):
Like it was, it was for our picture book actually. And I looked up a bunch of different like contracts. And I was like, I, like, I found some that I liked, but I like just could not take myself seriously as I was writing it. And I think it was absolute like garbage, probably because like the whole time, like all the contracts have like in like legally it's like Jacob it'll be like Jacob Kramer and then in quotation marks "author." And then it would be like in Ohio "state" in quotation marks. And I just like, thought it was so funny, like, oh yeah, Ohio was a "state", but, um,
Connie Maday (23:23):
right. But there's so much to know!
Connie Maday (23:24):
It's a whole other language, right. We, it really is, but to be able to ask for help when you need it and, and be okay with that and that people wanna help. And there are so many people that are, are backing your mission and that, um, I mean, that's important, right? What is the core? What's the reason that you're doing this to, you know, make a difference and, um, really spread joy and happiness. And that is, that's so important. Um, what are your hopes and dreams for love for our elders? And let's start there. Yeah. What are your hopes for that? How do you want it to continue?
Jacob Cramer (24:05):
Yeah, so the first hope we are, we have a chapter program. We have around 20 chapters right now. And like I said, these are just high schools, colleges, and local, like your local community that might have a letter writing chapter. They might also like volunteer at their local senior communities or educate their, their peers or community members about issues affecting older adults. And they might also run fundraisers for our national or, um, yeah. Our national organization, whatever. Um, it might be, they do it and we will fund them. We provide them with like the branding and the like kind of like clout of using our organization's name. Um, and we also connect them with other like-minded like chapters across the country so that they can, um, they can connect with each other. And actually, I shouldn't say across the country, because we have a couple chapters that are international.
Jacob Cramer (24:55):
I know we have one in Hong Kong.
Connie Maday (24:56):
mm-hmm <affirmative>. um, so, so amazing.
Jacob Cramer (24:59):
It's it just creates this network of like young people, like serving seniors, which is so special because when I started love for elders, my goal was just like, I had been rejected from, um, from a couple of different like volunteer organizations because I was too young and I was like, I want to make volunteering accessible to anyone and really connect like the youngest generation to our elders. And so that's super important to me. We are hoping to expand the program and offer more programming for our chapters, because right now it is very self, like very directed by the chapters themselves. And we're pretty hands off aside from like providing them funding and their network of other chapters that they connect can, can connect with. And we also offer them like a whole, our whole like directory of senior communities just for them that they can, uh, reach out to and send letters to that's I'm or volunteer at that's and then the second thing. Yeah. Oh yeah,
Connie Maday (25:51):
Yeah. Go for it. I just, I think that's incredible. And I want to make sure that you share also because volunteering is such an important part of the high school experience as well. And you, you have a way of recording volunteer hours, so make sure to touch on that for our young listeners. Yes.
Jacob Cramer (26:06):
Yes. So if you want to volunteer with love for elders in any way, you can just head to loveforelders.org/learning and request some volunteer hours. You deserve hours for your hard work and time and we'll give it to you. It's um, a super easy form and you can get sent volunteer hours in less than 24 hours. If you fill out that form, all you need is a Google account. So
Connie Maday (26:26):
That's awesome.
Jacob Cramer (26:26):
Please Request your hours.
Connie Maday (26:28):
Yes. You make a difference and you can earn hours. That's that's incredible. That's so that's awesome. I interrupted you. Did you wanna add anything else, Jacob?
Jacob Cramer (26:37):
Um, I was just gonna say so, you know, I'm, as we said, like I am, uh, moving to Spain to be a teacher and there is a lot of stuff that comes with that with the non-profit, because it is going to be significantly more challenging to run a non-profit from Spain. Mm-hmm <affirmative> um, I'm very lucky that like, you know, our, our, I feel like our board of directors is stacked. We have an amazing, um, like group of volunteers, but, um, what we're really focusing right on right now is making just our letter writing program, which is like our main like focus right now, more sustainable. Um, and that means making kind of like everything automated, certain triggers make other triggers go off within like our, like we're like our new web app that we're designing. Um, and just it'll hopefully be able to like automate the, the letter requests that are posted on our website each month.
Jacob Cramer (27:31):
Um, so that on the backend we don't have to do as much of the, um, communication with different, um, bundle facilitators, which are the people who, uh, who organize each like letter bundle for the elder who is isolated or alone and just could use a pick me up or a fuller mailbox. So it's really exciting that we got to do that, but it's also like totally not in my wheelhouse to be hiring the web developers and working with them on these, you know, Google fire base, like retool projects that I like don't totally understand, but kind of smile my way through.
Connie Maday (28:06):
That's alright. That's how it goes. <laugh>
Jacob Cramer (28:08):
We're, I'm learning and that's like, that's the best part of doing this work is like, I learn so much.
Connie Maday (28:13):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>
Jacob Cramer (28:14):
from all of it, I feel like I'm a very well rounded person because of it. And it's, it's really fun. Like that is what keeps the work interesting as much as like, it can be annoying. Sometimes it is really like, really enjoyable because of that. So that's kind of the chapters and making our organization more sustainable are the two things we're focusing on right now.
Connie Maday (28:30):
Fantastic. And what about your visions? I got a little sneak peek that, um, you're also interested in creating children's screen media.
Jacob Cramer (28:39):
Yeah. Yeah.
Connie Maday (28:40):
So what is that? Tell us about that. And what does that look like?
Jacob Cramer (28:43):
For Sure. Well, so first of all, in terms of like, just making things for kids, like I'm publishing a, um, children's picture book.
Connie Maday (28:50):
Yes. When does it come out?
Jacob Cramer (28:52):
So it kind of was delayed. It was supposed to be available for pre-order in August. I'm hoping that it will be by the end, the very end of this month. Okay. Um, but it will definitely be available for at least for pre-order in September. So probably around the time that this Comes out.
Connie Maday (29:07):
Yeah. September fantastic. Pre-order
Jacob Cramer (29:09):
Definitely check. Yeah. Go to loveforelders.org/book to pre-order the book it's like just about, um, this kid named Jake, I wonder where that name comes from.
Connie Maday (29:18):
<laugh>.
Jacob Cramer (29:18):
and his grandma and, um, it, and how he discovers a love for letters and then starts writing letters himself. And the end of the book, um, just has like letter, a letter writing resource. Great. For, um, ages or great. Yeah. Great. For ages three through seven, kind of as a service learning activity in schools, uh, to write a letter, um, and also like learn how to write a friendly letter because that art is certainly like dying, but also, just as a way to kind of show kids that like, whoa, like your grandparents, your elders are super cool. And so those are the two things that the book focuses on. And then in terms of like my personal interest yeah.
Connie Maday (29:56):
Yes. Congratulations.
Jacob Cramer (29:59):
Oh my gosh. Thank you so much.
Connie Maday (30:00):
So exciting. I can't wait to get my hands on it.
Jacob Cramer (30:02):
Oh my, I will send you a copy. Absolutely. But as soon as it comes out, hopefully, hopefully in September, but you'll be getting a copy if you wanna read it. Oh yeah. Um, you know, library put it in the library. Absolutely.
Connie Maday (30:12):
Um, oh, thank you, Jacob. That's so exciting. Yeah. So talk about this screen media. I know. So that you have some other thoughts and ideas of really how to, support kindness and perspective taking and cultural understanding. Tell us about that. Oh
Jacob Cramer (30:24):
My gosh. You know everything. Oh my gosh. Yes. Wow. You did your research.
Connie Maday (30:29):
Oh yeah.
Jacob Cramer (30:30):
So, wow. Um, yeah, so my, my senior thesis was on theory of mind and how, um, children's screen media can affect, um, how, how kids learn things like perspective taking, you know, how do they put themselves in other people's shoes? What issues do exist in, you know, children's television streaming services, um, uh, uh, just, you know, things like that web series and, um, YouTube as well. You know, my dream low-key would be just to be like a kid's YouTuber. I think that would be so much fun.
Connie Maday (31:03):
Oh, you'd be so good at it. Jacob. <laugh> <laugh>
Jacob Cramer (31:06):
I hope so. Um, I know no one can see me right now, but I don't not with my current setup. I would, I would need a better background because there is a giant blanket over my head.
Connie Maday (31:16):
Oh no, but the energy that you bring and I mean, you, you can't see him, but the smile and the energy and the, just like the joy that's coming. I'd like anybody, a kid wants to watch that for sure. My four year old would be enamored by you. I <laugh>. And any, anything to spruce up the, the media and to spread more cultural, understanding diversity, you know, awareness perspective taking that's so important, especially at the young ages where they're really opening up their understanding of what the world is and, um, how to live in the world. And I just, I think that's really important. We need more opportunity, more options. Um, so I can't wait to see what you come up with and what you do, and I'm here to support. If there's anything I can do for that for you. Um, that's really awesome. And I can't wait to see your book.
Connie Maday (32:11):
Um, there's also another exciting thing that is on the calendar. So tell us about February 26th. What should we know about that special day?
Jacob Cramer (32:21):
Absolutely. So February 26th, first of all, is my grandma's birthday. She's gonna be 101 in February.
Connie Maday (32:27):
Wow!. Oh my gosh!
Jacob Cramer (32:29):
<laugh> so that's kind of why this day was created. We created letter to an elder day. Um, and it's basically, I mean, you can probably already guess what it is, but it's a media campaign to remind the world, to embrace their elders during a time when it's needed most.
Connie Maday (32:42):
mm-hmm <affirmative>,
Jacob Cramer (32:42):
you know, after the holiday season, it can get really lonely for elders. There's less steamed, fun days, less funding going into senior communities and just gloomy or weather outside, um, and less visitors. It all makes it kind of, um, more gloomy and honestly, um, just more lonely. And so I founded it in 2020 in a college dorm room.
Connie Maday (33:03):
<laugh>.
Jacob Cramer (33:03):
and I was like, I was talking with my roommate. I was like, what if we make a holiday? And he was like, oh, like, well, what holiday would we make Jacob? I was like, how about Casey and Jacob Day?
Jacob Cramer (33:11):
And he was like, no one is going to celebrate that. And so I did a little more thinking and came up with letter to an elder day and what's really cool is he was totally right, because since then, it's been recognized by USPS and Midwest living magazine and to celebrate, literally all you have to do is write a letter to an elder and it could be an elder in your life, or even a total stranger through an organization, like love for our elders. And last year we had our goal of 15,000 letters collected and we would love to hit that goal again in 2023.
Connie Maday (33:40):
That is amazing. Oh, oh my gosh. Say that number again, Jacob, that's a lot of letters!
Jacob Cramer (33:46):
Yes. 15,000 letters collected, um, in, in honor of letter two and elder day this past year.
Connie Maday (33:54):
Wow. That is incredible. That is incredible just for when. Wow. That is so amazing. Well I'm so you've inspired me and, my family, there are several of us, but I did the math, my mom's turning 80 in November and every family member's going to write a letter, um, five letters by her birthday. So she will have 80 letters. So you fully, absolutely like inspired, um, inspired us. I know, I know it's a big number and, and she's doing great. She's ex you know, she and my dad are, um, they're living the life. They're doing great, but they love mail and she hangs it up. She puts it up. And so just that reminder, that those little, the time that we take to make that small, you know, share the joy to tell the small story, you know, even, even if my four year old can draw a little picture, that's gonna be put up on the wall, hung up on the refrigerator, it'll be there for the year, you know, it'll be there. So thank you for that inspiration. My family appreciates it too. And, um,
Jacob Cramer (34:54):
Thanks for taking action. Yeah. And for celebrating for also celebrating family members.
Connie Maday (34:59):
It's awesome. It's so awesome. Um, okay. So Jacob fast favorites, we're coming kind of towards the end here, Changemaker Fast Favorites. And I want to hear, um, if I've got six more quick questions, so you can give me a short answer and I, I might ask you for more <laugh> all right. Um, so favorite thing that brings you joy that you like to do
Jacob Cramer (35:22):
Recently? It's been food. I've never been a foodie, but, um, I've eaten some really good food really recently and trying new things. I'm excited for the Spanish food as well. So.
Connie Maday (35:30):
yes, definitely. I love Spanish foods. Amazing.
Connie Maday (35:32):
Okay. Who inspires you most your hero? Or if you could, could meet anyone or interview anyone alive or deceased, who would you meet and why? Ooh,
Jacob Cramer (35:45):
<laugh> okay. So inspires me most. It is like genuinely my grandma. She has, she's the matriarch of this beautiful family. She is the smartest person. I know. She knows like literally every word in the English dictionary and at a hundred, she still does. And she still will let you know when you're like mistaken or when your politics aren't correct. And it is not only hilarious, but honestly, just so impressive to my grandma. But if I was gonna meet anyone, um, dead or alive, it would definitely, um, it would definitely be Lady Gaga. I think she, the Born This Way Foundation is so incredible and her music is also phenomenal. And I just, I look up her so much, um, as a role model and I have, since I was little, um, and just the way that she's fearless see herself.
Connie Maday (36:26):
Will you tell us a little bit what you, you did a little bit for that foundation. What was that?
Jacob Cramer (36:31):
Oh, wow. You really did your, oh my God.
Connie Maday (36:32):
Yeah. Tell Us a little bit. Yeah.
Jacob Cramer (36:35):
Um, yes. So I, I used to be a reporter for channel kindness, which is an initiative of the Born This Way Foundation. And it was so wonderful because I got to meet all these other like writers and change makers who, um, who also, um, wanted to, um, you know, just be kind and spread that. So we would like report on, uh, stories in our local communities about people being kind. And it was so, so delightful and wonderful. And it was really cool to like, just, honestly, not only write because I like, I love writing, but to discover like really cool things happening locally. Um, yeah, but I never got to meet her, so I would love,
Connie Maday (37:14):
So that's gonna happen. It's gonna be, I see it in your future for sure. Um, that's so cool. Okay. Favorite way to start the day?
Jacob Cramer (37:23):
Late. <laugh>
Connie Maday (37:26):
To get up late. Is that what you're saying?
Jacob Cramer (37:27):
Yes. To get up late.
Connie Maday (37:28):
So what does that mean? Like 11, 10 latest. So,
Jacob Cramer (37:33):
Uh, recently it's been noon. I'm on California, cause I just got back, but um, nice. Yeah. Like usually like 10:30, 11.
Connie Maday (37:42):
So you like to sleep in sleep is important.
Jacob Cramer (37:43):
absolutely.
Jacob Cramer (37:45):
It's really important to make sure you give yourself a good night's sleep. Um, okay. This is the question I used to ask my students in my classroom. Um, I used to do a crazy little birthday jingle and we'd interview the birthday person. So if you could have a fountain, so think like chocolate fountain water fountain that would work on your command, what would you like to have pouring out of it? Whenever you want? Could be anything.
Jacob Cramer (38:10):
Oh, my gosh.
Connie Maday (38:11):
Could be like a favorite something or it could just be whatever. Yeah.
Jacob Cramer (38:15):
Oh my gosh. Okay. I'm
Connie Maday (38:18):
I, oh my gosh. stump you Jacob?
Jacob Cramer (38:22):
I, oh, I hope this isn't too weird of me to say like, I can think of like so many foods I would love to like have pour out of fountain, but like, oh, okay. This is kind of weird, but I think I would want, this is so weird. I, I gotta say it anyway. No, I love it.
Connie Maday (38:37):
Do it, say
Jacob Cramer (38:38):
It. I would want a sunscreen fountain and here's the reason why
Connie Maday (38:42):
A sunscreen fountain.
Jacob Cramer (38:43):
Yeah. So sunscreen, it's like very expensive for the amount that I use. I feel like I go through like a whole thing of sunscreen in like a week and it's like $10, like who wants that? So to have unlimited sunscreen would be wonderful. Also. I'm always losing sunscreen. So I, you know, fountain it's in one place. I would never lose it.
Connie Maday (39:00):
<laugh>.
Jacob Cramer (39:00):
and my least favorite thing about sun. I like this is strange.
Connie Maday (39:05):
You're gonna be sponsored by sunscreen after this.
Jacob Cramer (39:07):
I wanna lemonade fountain. Yeah.
Connie Maday (39:09):
Yeah. Do you have a favorite brand? Tell us your favorite brand, Jacob?
Jacob Cramer (39:12):
Okay. I, well, I can't afford my favorite brand, but it's Sun Bum because it smells so good. Oh. But recently I've been using, you know, like the like copper tone or whatever it's called or, um, the other like more sporty ones that don't, um, come off, you
Connie Maday (39:26):
Need more spent Sun Bum in your life. I like
Jacob Cramer (39:28):
That. Yes. We all do we, but I just, I hate when it's, um, when you like touch a bottle of sunscreen that you've already like used and it's like kind of sticky. So like a fountain, it would just like, you know, pour onto you and you wouldn't have to touch, touch anything. Yeah. Like that sounds one. Cause that's like, everyone's least favorite part of applying sunscreen. So I didn't a sunscreen fountain would be what I go with.
Jacob Cramer (39:46):
Yeah.
Jacob Cramer (39:46):
Love it. What did you say when it was, um, in your classroom and their kids were asking?
Connie Maday (39:50):
I don't know. Chocolate sometimes like flowers a fountain of laughter.
Jacob Cramer (39:58):
A fountain of laughter. That would be fun,
Jacob Cramer (40:00):
You know? Oh, oh my gosh. A fountain that tells, you know, like the Laffy Taffy jokes, like a fountain, like just will tell you jokes and it's never gets old. Cause I feel like when I get a Laffy Taffy, they're all the same. Like I'll have like five and it's like, I just saw this joke yesterday, but like to have like new jokes,
Connie Maday (40:13):
like a new Joke that comes out. Yeah.
Jacob Cramer (40:15):
Wouldn't that make sense?
Connie Maday (40:16):
Something that just makes you laugh. I love it. Okay. My cheeks are hurting right now. <laugh> smiling so hard. Um, okay. What is something you wish everyone in the world knew?
Jacob Cramer (40:29):
I wish that everyone in the world knew that it's okay. It's cool to be kind. I think there's a lot of like bigotry and hate in the world and just be kind. It's not that hard.
Connie Maday (40:42):
It's not that hard. Yeah. Agree. And what is something everyone can do today to make an impact?
Jacob Cramer (40:49):
You can write a letter to an elder at @loveforelders.org. Just head there, learn how to write a letter and uh, start with, start with one. And it could change someone's day, week, month, or maybe their life. You never know.
Connie Maday (41:05):
You never know. It starts with one letter, one person, one idea.
Connie Maday (41:09):
Jacob. Thank you so much for being here. I'll make sure to, to leave all the links in the show notes, but will you tell us one more time where they can find out more?
Jacob Cramer (41:18):
Thank you so much for having me. You can head to loveforourelders.org and get started with some senior volunteering.
Connie Maday (41:28):
Amazing. Thank you so much. I'm so grateful to have shared this time with you and I wish you all the best on your adventures. And I cannot wait to see what comes of all of these hopes and dreams. I will definitely need to stay in touch with you so we can, , keep sharing and spark to empower will continue to celebrate the positive impact that you are making in the world. Remember everyone out there listening one small act can make a difference. One letter can make a day bright and put a smile on someone's face. Um, so make sure you are doing your part to spread joy. To find out more about my story. Go to sparktoempower.com that's S P A R K T O E M P O W E R.com and make sure to listen to spark change, to celebrate other changemakers, leave a review, share any thoughts you have about ideas that you've gleamed from the episodes. And thank you so much for listening. Remember to be kind, be bold and be you go out and make sure to share your joy in the world until next time I'm Connie Maday. Make it a great day, every day. Thank you so much.
