{"id":5890,"date":"2020-04-07T16:06:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T16:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=5890"},"modified":"2020-04-07T16:06:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T16:06:44","slug":"newcastle-pen-pal-project-to-forge-links-across-the-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/04\/07\/newcastle-pen-pal-project-to-forge-links-across-the-generations\/","title":{"rendered":"NEWCASTLE PEN PAL PROJECT TO FORGE LINKS ACROSS THE GENERATIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon has put out a call for Newcastle kids to sign up for \u2018<em>Sharon\u2019s Pen Pal Club\u2019<\/em>\u00a0and write letters to an older Novocastrian living in aged care.<br \/>\nMs Claydon said she had launched the program to benefit young and old Novocastrians in the face of increased restrictions to help stop the spread of COVID-19.<br \/>\n\u201cResidents in aged care are becoming increasingly isolated and vulnerable, while many kids are home from school and at a loose end,\u201d Ms Claydon said.<br \/>\n\u201cThe aim of the program is to unite aged care residents who may be feeling less connected than usual and children who are in need of stimulation and writing practice.\u201d<br \/>\nMs Claydon said families could register children to take part in the program by sending an email to Sharon.Claydon.MP@aph.gov.au or calling her office on 4926 1555.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019ve already got a growing list of seniors who have signed up to help children practice their writing and build new friendships.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019d encourage all families who want to help their kids learn and get a new perspective on life to get in touch with me today.\u201d<br \/>\nMs Claydon said the restrictions of social distancing and enforced isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic are leading people across the globe to find innovative ways to connect.<br \/>\n\u201cWhile we can\u2019t come together in person like we used to, I have great faith in the power of community to get us through these difficult times,\u201d Ms Claydon said.<br \/>\n\u201cBy signing up to my Pen Pal Club, you can be part of a community effort to help keep older Novocastrians connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. No Novocastrian should be left feeling alone right now, so take a moment to sign up and become a pen-pal today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon has put out a call for Newcastle kids to sign up for \u2018Sharon\u2019s Pen Pal Club\u2019\u00a0and write letters to an older Novocastrian living in aged care. Ms Claydon said she had launched the program to benefit young and old Novocastrians in the face of increased restrictions to help stop &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/04\/07\/newcastle-pen-pal-project-to-forge-links-across-the-generations\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;NEWCASTLE PEN PAL PROJECT TO FORGE LINKS ACROSS THE GENERATIONS&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}