Radio Diary: The Kindness Of A Phone Call

Hear our hour on the mutual benefits of kindness.

Allyson Cook is a 23. She’s a grad student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

And since the pandemic began, she’s been volunteering for something called the Get Connected program at the Northwood long-term care facility.  “This was an opportunity for volunteers to reach out to seniors … just asking if they were interested or not,” Allyson says.

Among those 80 seniors, Ally met a woman who was 60 years her senior. Charlotte Rose Burns is 83, and the duo quickly became friends, talking on the phone often. Then one day, they decided to meet. In today’s radio diary, hear the story of the kindness of a phone call.

In this diary … we hear from:

Allyson Cook, grad student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Charlotte Rose Burns, resident of the Northwood long-term care facility.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]