“Have a happy day.”

“Know that You are loved”

“You are special”

Little cards made by little hands were sent out to the elderly in senior homes who are no longer are allowed visitors.

Nine-year-old Toshi wanted to see if there was something he could do to help in the “crisis” hitting Washington state.

Schools have been shut down since early March, and will not be open until late April, if even that. All after school sports and extracurriculars have been shut down. Businesses are also closing right and left, including the restaurant that dad works at. And as of Monday, everyone has been asked to stay home.

Life is different now. But Toshi realized there are many more who are suffering more. He wanted to find somewhere to help ease the suffering.

He talked to his family and decided to find out if there was something they could do for the local senior centers. He found the closest senior center that he knew. He wrote out a script, practiced, then made the call….or tried. When the line picked up on the other side, he got scared and hung up. After a few deep breaths, he called his brother to sit by him as he tried again. With a shaky, loud voice he delivered his script, “How can we help?”

The staff recommended that Toshi send letters through the postal system. He later thought of making a joke book so they could have something to make them laugh. He asked his cousins and friends to join in, amassing dozens of letters to send.

Toshi’s story shows that in small ways and large ways, we can all stand together to get through these tough times.