The COVID-19 pandemic motivated the project team of Letokruh to set up new forms of communication for and with their older volunteers. The idea was to give them the opportunity to connect and communicate, and to support and motivate each other (also) in times of distancing and isolation.

As soon as it was clear that face-to-face meetings were not possible, the participants of the neighbourhood group established a WhatsApp group. Participants accepted it very well and used the group to stay in touch. Also later, when participants met in person again, the WhatsApp group was used to promote joint activities, share text and image documentations of group meetings and joint excursions (e. g. guided city tours). Participants adopted this channel to the extent that they send each other birthday wishes, send invitations to their own events and theatre performances, and are their own content creators and moderators of the group. 

The project team observed that a group can “grow together” via digital means and use this momentum in real life to make closer connections and be active together. This is also confirmed by the experiences in The Hague: one participant has been sending an inspiring saying to the whole group via WhatsApp every day and thus brightening up the start of everyone’s day.