12-year-old sends over 150 Christmas cards to nursing home residents for second year

Dec. 23—LONDON — What started as a sweet gesture in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a yearly tradition for one London boy.

When 12-year-old Blake Robinson saw that nursing home residents were going to be spending the holidays alone last year, he knew he had to do something.

"He's always loved older people, he always tries to open the door for them and help them load their things up," said Blake's mom, Corie Robinson. "Obviously, during the pandemic, he was like 'I can't get close to them, I can't help.' Then, he saw on TV one day, especially in the heat of the pandemic, when they weren't allowed to have visitors, they couldn't go anywhere and he was like 'it just makes me sad, I want to do something. What do you think I could do?'"

That's when the idea of sending Christmas cards came about, something to make those nursing home residents who weren't going to be spending the holidays with their loved ones feel a little more special and loved.

"I felt bad for them because they couldn't have visitors at the time and they couldn't go anywhere," Blake said.

With a little help from his mom, Blake was able to send out around 150 Christmas cards last Christmas to residents of Laurel Heights Home for the Elderly. Corie said Blake even wrote a special message for the residents inside each card.

This year, Blake knew again that many in the community's most vulnerable population wouldn't be getting any visitors this holiday season, as COVID-19 is still prevalent in the community, and wanted to send out Christmas cards once again this Christmas. So, he and his mom got to work on approximately 160 Christmas cards with special messages sealed inside each card and dropped them off at the doors of the nursing home.

"It makes me very proud, it makes my heart so happy," Corie said of her son's sweet gesture.

Though Blake hopes to continue bringing a little Christmas cheer for nursing home residents for years to come, he and his mom are hoping that eventually he'll be able to personally hand deliver each card to residents.

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