About | Sending Grace

Grace and her grandma JoAnn — Grace and her grandma, JoAnn Brown, who our whole family calls DukeMom

Before COVID, seeing my grandma was a normal part of both of our lives. Then suddenly it wasn't. We call her DukeMom, after her beloved dog Duke, and during the pandemic she couldn't leave the house or see the people she normally would.

So I started writing her letters, little reminders that someone loved her and was thinking about her. When I was finally able to see her again, she told me those letters were what got her through the pandemic.

That stayed with me. If the distance was that hard for DukeMom, who had those letters, what was it like for seniors who live with that kind of isolation every day? That question became Sending Grace: a simple way for kids to write letters to seniors in their community.

Meet Grace

I'm a student at Palos Verdes High School. I started Sending Grace in middle school with the kids I babysat. Together we wrote letters to seniors in our neighborhood and delivered them to their mailboxes. I believed then, and still believe, that you don't have to wait until you're grown up to do something that matters.

The journalist in me wants to share every story I hear. But when I'm sitting with someone, I try to just listen and let them reminisce. Feeling heard often matters more than being written about.

Grace O'Rourke, founder

Grace as a young girl hugging her neighbor, Mr. Peck, in his living room — With our neighbor Mr. Peck at his house, Memorial Day weekend 2016

Learning to listen

Long before Sending Grace, when I was six, my family invited our neighbor, Mr. Peck, to dinner. We didn't really know him yet, but we saw him walking his dog, Barron, every single day, rain or shine. Over dinner we learned he was 94, a Navy fighter pilot in World War II and Korea, a NASA safety officer during the Apollo missions, a friend of Louis Zamperini, and a husband of 67 years. Since his wife had passed away, he lived alone with Barron. He had so many stories and so few people to tell them to. He told us how his plane once went down in the Pacific and he survived 16 hours alone in a life raft. We were riveted, so he invited us over to hear more.

By the following Memorial Day, Mr. Peck wasn't just our neighbor anymore. He was our friend. We used to color him pictures and leave them in his mailbox, and when he welcomed my family and cousins into his home, there they were, clipped to his fridge with magnets. He spent two hours showing us his old uniforms and medals. If we had just kept waving as we passed him, we never would have known how incredible he was. That's when I learned there are real-life superheroes living among us.

Now, every time I see a senior, whether it's on a walk in my neighborhood or at a care facility, I just know they have stories to tell, advice to share, and so much love to give. Not every senior gets a dinner invitation from the neighbors. But imagine if every one of them opened their mailbox to a letter from a kid who wanted to know them. That's the heart of Sending Grace. Mr. Peck taught me that, and now I want to help kids learn it too: to care about the seniors around them, be curious about their stories, and turn a neighbor into a friend.

Grace at six at an outdoor dinner table with her grandparents, her dad, and Mr. Peck — Our first dinner with Mr. Peck, with DukeMom, my grandpa, and my dad, March 2015

Mr. Peck smiling on his couch with Grace's little brother, holding up one of his old photos — Mr. Peck showing my little brother one of his photos

Mr. Peck laughing as Grace and her cousins hug him on his couch — A group hug with my brother and cousins

Grace's little brother lying on the floor, studying a framed certificate with Mr. Peck's name and an American flag — My brother studying one of Mr. Peck's framed certificates

In the classroom

I visit elementary schools across Southern California, read How to Send a Hug by Hayley Rocco, and help kids write letters to seniors they've never met.

Grace with Ms. Schmitz holding completed letters — With Ms. Schmitz, TK teacher at Silver Spur Elementary

Grace with Ms. Arjasbi outside Silver Spur Elementary — With Ms. Arjasbi, principal of Silver Spur Elementary and my own first grade teacher

Grace with Ms. Watson in her classroom — With Ms. Watson, 2nd grade teacher at Lunada Bay Elementary

Grace with Mrs. Fairbrother in her classroom — With Mrs. Fairbrother, 4th grade teacher at Grand View Elementary in Manhattan Beach

Students at Grand View Elementary writing their letters — Writing letters at Grand View Elementary

Grace helping a student with her letter — Helping a student at Lunada Bay Elementary

Where the letters go

Every letter I collect gets delivered. Sometimes I stay and read them with residents, and sometimes I leave them at the front desk for staff to share.

Grace outside Ivy Park at Palos Verdes — **Ivy Park at Palos Verdes**
Assisted living and memory care

Grace outside Peninsula Seniors — **Peninsula Seniors**
Palos Verdes

Grace outside The Canterbury — **The Canterbury**
Rancho Palos Verdes

Grace outside The Kensington — **The Kensington**
Redondo Beach

Grace outside Merrill Gardens — **Merrill Gardens**
Rolling Hills Estates

Grace outside Sunrise Senior Living — **Sunrise Senior Living**
Manhattan Beach

"While balancing school, cheer, and other commitments, Grace built and expanded this program with determination and perseverance. Much of the funding for Sending Grace came from wages she earned working at Neptune's Frozen Treats, demonstrating her willingness to invest her own time and resources into a cause she deeply believes in."

Mayor Michael Kemps, City of Palos Verdes Estates

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It started with letters to my grandma

Meet Grace

Learning to listen

In the classroom

Where the letters go

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